Phantom Persona
by Fortune's Phantom
Summary: Two years after the fateful accident with the portal Danny's been more effective than he imagined despite Team Phantom turning into a solo act. Unfortunately for Danny fate refuses to let him rest and after a visit from Clockwork he's hurled headlong into events he'd never anticipated. Phantom is going to Inaba and he's going to find the truth, even if he has to do it on his own.
1. A Wounded Soul

I'd like to start this note with an apology to anybody who's here because they're on alert for my other story. I know that it's been over a year since I've updated it and I'm sorry about that. As of this point I'm not sure when or if I will continue writing it, however I will not delete it on the off chance that I get any inspiration to finish it. For now my main concern is going to be this story, I'm sorry if anybody's disappointed by that.

Well, here we go with a Danny Phantom and Persona 4 crossover. I'll admit that the original bit that launches Danny into the story is pretty unoriginal and probably a bit contrived, but aside from going the route of the Fentons already being dead, this is the only way I can see him getting to Japan. Anyways, I feel that I should warn you that the first few chapters will probably be a bit rough as I try to get into the flow of the story and I apologize for any similarity to other stories as I've been reading quite a few of them recently and I may have accidentally bled some into this one, I've done it before and if I do it again I will do my best to edit it to avoid stepping on toes. I'll try to smooth these chapters out later, but until then I always have a few issues as I start a new story. As for the length of the chapters you can probably expect this to be about the normal length, give or take a couple thousand words.

You will notice several changes in the story line to both Persona 4 and Danny Phantom, significantly more for the latter, but they should be relatively obvious. I figure I should mention now that at least for a while Danny will be pretty OOC, though over time he'll slowly drift closer to his carefree attitude you see in the show. The main pairing in the story is going to be Danny and Naoto, though I may play a bit of pair the spares if enough people would be interested in seeing it, otherwise I'll probably just have the rest of the characters remain platonic with each other.

With all of that said, if anybody is genuinely interested in becoming a beta for the story I'd more than appreciate the help. But for now just sit back and enjoy the story, if you'd like.

* * *

Phantom Persona

Chapter One: A Wounded Soul

Daniel Fenton was, if you asked nearly anybody who knew him, a perfectly normal young man, who had perfectly normal hopes and dreams for his future. With all due respect to those people, they were painfully unaware of what was right in front of their faces.

The truth was that Danny was exceedingly abnormal. Where many sixteen year olds only worried about their grades and whether or not they would get lucky at the end of their date night, Danny had to worry about whether or not he, and any given person in Amity Park, would live to see the next day. He also had to worry about a variety of other 'normal' people, including his own parents at times, who wanted nothing more than to capture and dissect him.

In short, Danny Fenton lived a very stressful life, which was brought home even further when his brief romantic relationship with his former best friend, Samantha Manson, had been squashed violently by a combination of her parents meddling and her own rising insecurities. At first things had been going wonderfully, but soon enough she began questioning all of his interactions with females outside of his family.

While he had tried his best to work with her to make both of them happy, he eventually realized that it was doomed to failure. In the end the relationship lasted only a few short months before it ended in disaster, taking their friendship down with it. With the end of his friendship with Sam, the timer began on his friendship with what was now his only real friend, Tucker Foley.

Their friendship didn't end with shouting or angry words, but it was no less painful for Danny. He had tried everything he could to preserve their friendship but Tuck had always been on Sam's side when their relationship issues started and, sadly, time slowly worked against him.

Over time, Danny and Tucker slowly drifted apart, where he used to always be ready to help Danny during his nightly ghost hunting he began to have other business to deal with each night, and it only went downhill from there. After a few months he stopped coming to the house, then he began drifting away from Danny at school, until the final nail in the coffin developed when he and Sam started dating. Danny never held it against him, and he hoped that the two were happy together, but he couldn't face either of them after that development and it seemed that the feeling was mutual.

The end result was that Danny withdrew into himself and concentrated solely on developing both his grades and his powers. Slowly he began to notice that his ghost core seemed to be growing at an amazing rate, and when he asked Clockwork about it he seemed to only give the vaguest of answers. After failing to get a true answer from the time master he chose to observe it more often, and over time it seemed to stabilize, though it was significantly more powerful than it was before.

Before this discovery he hadn't ever thought anything about his core, but after asking several other ghosts that he was on good terms with about it they confirmed it was unusual for such a large amount of growth in a short time-span, but couldn't tell him more past that. Danny had briefly considered asking Vlad about the development but had shot down that idea almost as soon as it occurred to him; he failed to see how asking the man who wanted nothing more than to kidnap him would help him figure out this issue.

Eventually he decided that if he couldn't get a direct answer from anybody on it then he would just content himself with observing it for now, and turned his efforts to training his powers again. It seemed as if that was the correct choice because after discovering the change in his core his powers began developing at an amazingly fast rate, and in interesting ways.

He had found that while his ecto-bolts were certainly still his most powerful weapon, and had gained significant power through the growth, his physical attacks had also become more powerful, particularly when combined with an ectoblast. As soon as he learned this he changed his fighting style to feature more physical attacks after he had closed in on his opponent, after adopting this style he'd went to his mother for close combat training in an attempt to refine his technique rather than rely on brute force. Not long after starting his training he decided to cut his hair shorter, more for the practical reasons that close combat brought to the forefront of his mind than any cosmetic reason, at least that's what he told himself despite allowing Jazz to style it into a somewhat rough but somehow attractive shape.

While his parents had originally questioned why he came to them for training they quickly understood when Danny, after two years of hiding it, revealed his status as a half-ghost. Jack and Maddie had taken it hard, but managed to bounce back after he'd explained everything to them, and why he'd kept it a secret for so long.

Soon after the growth of his core Danny's uniform began changing as well. While both his human and ghost half had aged and developed physically at the same rate, up until the most recent change Phantom had still worn the hazmat suit he'd been 'born' in. The changes were startling to him at first, his pants had morphed into a pair of well-fitted black slacks with gray pinstripes on them, accompanied by a silver-buckled belt, black dress socks, and his boots changing to black leather dress shoes, complete with a polished shine. Just as his lower half had transformed his top had changed to feature a simple black dress shirt, of which he wasted no time rolling the sleeves up on, a dark green tie, a well tailored dark gray vest complete with silver filigree accents and four silver buttons, and a black leather shoulder holster for which he had no discernable purpose other than possibly carrying a ecto-gun as a backup.

The end result of the changes was that instead of the slightly ridiculous child he'd looked like before, his image was similar to what he would expect a private detective from a story set in the early nineteen hundreds to look like. At first he had hated the change, he complained that it was impractical, he despised wearing anything resembling a suit and, worst of all, Vlad had complimented him on his fashion 'choice'. Eventually he got used to his new form and even, slowly, grew to appreciate the slightly hardboiled look, even going so far as adopting the style in his human form when he wasn't at school, he found that was the only time he spent enough time around other people to make them curious about the similarities between his forms anymore. As time wore on and Danny continued to grow in power, skill, and reputation the ghosts that had terrorized Amity Park for so long slowly began withdrawing back to the ghost zone.

At first Danny thought it was karma giving him a break, but when they failed to come back he knew that something was wrong it was two weeks later that he began to get truly worried. It was just as he was considering going to Clockwork to see what was wrong that the master of time himself decided to appear in his home. That, ladies and gentlemen, is where our story truly begins.

* * *

Danny paced around his room nervously, desperately trying to decide what to do. While the complete absence of ghost activity had been a blessing at first it had started feeling odd after a few days, after an uneventful week he became rather unnerved that there wasn't even a single sighting of any ghosts, and now at the two week mark he was finding it absolutely nerve wracking. The only times that he'd ever seen the ghost community act like this was either during very brief truces or when something bad was building up. Seeing as how there hadn't been any activity since mid-March, he was inclined to believe it was the latter, and he hated the idea of another outburst like with King Pariah.

Finally, after approximately another ten minutes of pacing he sighed and transformed silently, having long given up the ridiculous battle cry he used to favor. If no ghosts were going to come to him then he would go to them, namely Clockwork. Danny knew that it was unlikely that the Master of Time would be forthcoming with the details as to what this could be leading up to, but he had to try.

Danny was about to phase through the floor into the lab when, for the first time in two weeks, his ghost sense went off. He was slightly startled at the sudden sensation, he'd almost wondered if he'd lost the ability, despite the ridiculousness of the idea. Before he could even begin searching for the intruder he was caught off guard, again, by voice of the very ghost he was about to go looking for, "Hello, Danny."

Danny groaned inwardly, _'This is going to be bad…Clockwork never leaves his tower unless it's to deliver bad news.'_ he thought resignedly, before turning to the ghost who was currently locked into his old man form, "Hello, Clockwork. I'd ask how you were doing, but since you're here I doubt you're having a great day either."

Clockwork raised an eyebrow at that, "How do you know that I'm not here to tell you everything will be alright?"

"Because," Danny sighed, "You never tell me how things end, because as we both know there's an infinite amount of ways this could end. Just me eating eggs this morning instead of cereal could have life-altering consequences, or some crap like that."

The Time Master couldn't help but chuckle as he shifted into his child form, "I see. Well I can safely tell you that what you ate for breakfast this morning will not significantly change the future this time."

Danny rolled his eyes at that, "You know, somehow that doesn't make me feel any better at all. What cheerful news do you have for me today, Clockwork?" He asked in a sarcastic tone.

Clockwork's smile faded slightly at that and he sighed as he transformed into a young man, "As unfortunate as it is, Danny, I'm afraid you've guessed my purpose correctly. That said, this is something that you will have to inform you parents of as well."

Danny raised an eyebrow, "I see…I suppose this is going to be one of those things where my life is going to be a lot more difficult in the foreseeable future then." He said, rather than asked. At Clockwork's nod he sighed and let go of his ghost half. "Fine…I'll get my parents, meet us in the living room."

Clockwork nodded at him before disappearing, leaving Danny to shake his head and massage his forehead in frustration as he phased through the floor and made his way to the lab where his parents were working on whatever new invention they'd thought up. He knocked quietly against the door frame as he appeared and smiled when his parents jumped a little, "Hey, Danny, what's up?" Jack asked, excitedly.

Danny gave him a small smile before motioning over his shoulder, "We've got a guest, a ghost named Clockwork. He's helped me out in the past and it looks like he's got some new information for me. He says that you guys need to hear it too…before we go though you should know he's the master of time. Whatever he says will or will not happen…that's how it's going to be, for better or for worse." He told them, somewhat hesitantly.

Maddie's eyes widened at the implications and she nodded slowly, while Jack grinned at the prospect of meeting another ghost, "Alright, Danny…take us to him." She said after a few moments.

Danny's smile died as he turned around and led them up to the living room, his mind racing a mile a minute trying to guess what Clockwork would be telling them…he knew it was pointless because even if he managed to figure out some of it then there would be just as much that would still be a surprise. He couldn't help but grumble under his breath as his sat down on the couch after introducing his parents to the older ghost, he really and truly hated these visits from Clockwork.

"Well, now that the introductions have been finished, I'm sure that Danny has already told you that I'm here to discuss some important matters with you." At Jack and Maddie's nods he turned to Danny and continued, "As you're no doubt aware the vast majority of the citizens in the ghost zone both fear and despise you, but due to your recent surge in power they have chosen to withdraw back to the ghost zone."

Danny snorted derisively at being told the ghosts' feelings about him, as if he didn't know, "I've figured that much out on my own, Clockwork." He said, somewhat sarcastically.

Clockwork shrugged and continued as if he hadn't been interrupted, "After much debate the ghost council has declared that they want to offer a peace treaty with you. Their terms are simple in that they are to stay within the confines of the ghost zone and in return you are not to harm them or take any offensive actions against them. Obviously if a ghost were to stray to the human realm then you could deal with them as you see fit and then return them to the ghost zone where they will receive punishment from their own kind."

Danny raised an eyebrow at that, "Okay…I'm not seeing the bad side to this." He said cautiously.

The Time Master sighed and shook his head, "That would be because I haven't got to the bad part yet, Danny. Right now this is just me being the Ghost Zone's representative, once you've agreed to the terms of the treaty I will continue with the rest of the news."

"Done." Danny said, immediately, a small wave of relief washing over both his and his parents faces at the news that the treaty was genuine.

"Good." Clockwork said, letting a small smile play across his face, before frowning again, "Unfortunately that brings us to our next topic…your future."

Danny's eyes widened and he could feel the color drain from his face, he glanced at his parents and saw that they had similar, though less drastic, reactions. "I'm afraid, Danny, that my hold on your evil self is growing weak. Dan has been constantly attempting to escape for years and, as we both know, it is inevitable that he will. Sometime within the time frame of two years Dan will break free and he will destroy me. He will wreak havoc on the ghost zone before he comes to the human world. As much as I would like to say otherwise this cannot be prevented, the most that can be done is to delay the process."

Danny shook his head trying to deny what he was hearing but knew it was true, "You're positive? What am I talking about, of course you're sure." Danny muttered before drawing in a shaky breath, "What do I do?"

Clockwork grimaced, "Danny, what I'm about to ask of you will not be easy for you, but you must do it. Though I know it will be no comfort now know that in the near future you will find yourself the happiest you've been in years, despite this knowledge that will plague you."

Danny stared at the ghost, more than just a little afraid, and tried to swallow the lump that had developed in his throat, "Tell me…"

Clockwork glanced at Jack and Maddie who looked just as fearful as Danny, before nodding. "Very well...before I tell you, believe me when I say that I wish there was another way." At Danny's hesitant nod he continued, "Right now Dan is drawing power from you, there is nothing you can do to prevent it while you are here. The only way to stop him from gaining power is to put distance between yourself and Amity Park. Coincidentally this coincides with the plans of an...associate of mine. Your assistance is required in Japan, where you will stay for two years, before returning here to face Dan."

Danny blinked before shaking his head. _Alright…that doesn't seem so difficult, we don't have much reason to stay here anyways._ He thought to himself and when he glanced at his parents they seemed to be coming to the same conclusions. However that illusion was shattered with Clockwork's next sentence.

"You will have to leave your family behind, Danny."

Danny's eyes flashed green at that and he shook his head violently, "Like hell I will! Why the hell would I need to do that?" He asked angrily, jumping to his feet.

"Because, Danny, somebody has to keep watch on the ghost portal. You know as well as everybody else in this room that it cannot be shut off without expelling disastrous amounts of energy into your world." He said calmly, clearly expecting the outburst from Danny.

"Bullshit! Valerie is still hunting ghosts and she's capable enough to keep watch on it." Danny argued.

Clockwork nodded, "Yes…she is very capable, and she will be helping to watch it…but she will need help when the time comes, if you are to have any warning at all." He explained calmly.

Danny's eyes widened in realization and he shook his head silently, horror at what he was thinking written on his face. He looked desperately at his parents and saw the same fear reflected on their faces, but also a grim acceptance. "No! I will not let them stay here alone to deal with him!" He shouted, not caring as a sad look crossed Clockwork's face. He was about to continue when his mother spoke for the first time since introducing herself.

"Danny, listen to me." She said softly, though somewhat shakily. Once she was sure she had his attention she gave him a sad smile, "You've made us very proud with the way you've turned out. You are truly a great person and have proven that you're a real hero and you're willing to put your life on the line to protect others, even if they don't deserve it. From everything you've told us about this horribly warped future I know you will never be like him. I know you hate running from a fight, but if that's what your friend tells you will help you defeat him then that's what you have to do."

Danny shook his head, "But I can beat him! I done it before when I was fourteen and I wasn't even close to as powerful as I am now…I know I can do it!"

Clockwork shook his head, "No, Danny. The reason you beat him when you were fourteen was because you caught him by surprise. He severely underestimated you then and he will not do so again. As for you thinking that you're more powerful than him, you are severely mistaken. If I had to guess I would say that you only have three quarters of the power he has, and he has vastly more experience using it. Unfortunately you will never be as powerful as he is, because he is willing to do things to gain more power, dark and terrible things that you can't and shouldn't ever do. In short, if you were to stay here you would die a horrible death, and after that he would ravage the rest of the world because even though you're not powerful enough to defeat him on your own, you're also the only one who can ever kill him…but you'll need help."

"But-"

Jack and Maddie both stood up and walked over to him, grabbing him into a hug, "It's going to be alright, son." Jack said soothingly.

Danny clenched his eyes shut for a moment, willing himself not to cry, before pulling away from the hug, unable to stand the close proximity of his family…people who he was leaving to face unknown horrors when Dan came through the portal. "Why does it have to be Japan? Can't I just move somewhere in the United States? Besides, I don't even know how to speak or read Japanese, how would I talk to anybody over there, never mind go to school?"

The old ghost sighed tiredly at his argument, "I am capable of giving you that knowledge directly, Danny. It will be...unpleasant at first, and you will have a very bad headache for a few hours, however afterwards you will be able to speak and read Japanese just as fluently as you can English, though you may have some issues with mixing the languages at first." He explained slowly.

"That still doesn't explain why I have to go to Japan." Danny responded stubbornly, crossing his arms.

Clockwork stared at the younger ghost for a few moments, allowing his annoyance with the argument to show before speaking. "I'm afraid, Daniel that I don't know the answer to that question." He answered, somewhat coldly, "Whenever I try to observe the outcome of your failure or refusal to go to Japan my screens are entirely obscured by fog."

Danny gaped at him in a mixture of horror and confusion as he took in what the master of time was saying, "But...how can you not see what happens? Does that mean..."

Clockwork shook his head, "I do not know. I see that you are beginning to grasp the importance of your trip though. Even if you were to succeed by staying here, which I assure you is impossible, your failure to travel to Japan would lead to a future that I can not see or account for...assuming there even is a future to be had there."

"I...understand, Clockwork. But still even going to Japan, how do I know where I need to be? Where will I live? I don't know anybody there." Danny replied quietly, though he was met with no reply from the old ghost, merely a raised eyebrow towards his mother.

Maddie stared at the ghost in shock as she realized what he was getting at, before sighing heavily, "Danny, honey, that's not entirely true. We do have family there, my step-brother lives in Japan and has made a good life for himself. It's been a little while since I've talked to him but we always had a good relationship, and I'm sure that he would be okay with you going to live with him if I called and said it was an emergency."

Danny looked between Clockwork and Maddie skeptically, "Err, Mom, are you really sure he could do that? And even if he would be willing to, what emergency could possibly be worth sending me to live with a guy I've never met for two years and not only attend but also graduate a school in a country I've never even been to?" He asked incredulously, "Besides, aren't the Japanese decidedly...un-welcoming of outsiders coming to live there? How would we get me permission to live and go to school there, especially on such short notice?"

Maddie sighed and shrugged, "Danny, I understand you're scared, but I assure you that Ryotara will let you stay with him, and he's not xenophobic like you might think, okay? Him and his father lived here for a while, Mom married his dad after her and Dad split up and when they went back to Japan she followed, that's why you never got to see her." She explained heavily, before giving him a small smile and continuing, "And for your information you have been to Japan before. We all went to visit your Grandma when you were born, since she hadn't gotten to see Jazz either, we were there for a few months until we came back."

The surprise at her explanation was clear on Danny's face as he listened to her, "I...well, I guess that explains why he might be willing to take me in if there was an emergency big enough, I guess." He replied, trailing off for a moment before continuing, "But that still leaves us with an emergency that doesn't exist yet and doesn't solve any of the issues with the Japanese not wanting me there as a whole."

A calm smile crossed Clockwork's face at the younger ghost's response, "You need not worry about the necessary documentation, Danny, I'll make sure it gets taken care of and delivered to you in plenty of time for your trip, as for the reason you should tell him that you need his help I recommend a small portion of the truth." The ghost assured him.

Danny raised an eyebrow towards Clockwork, "Alright...I won't question you on being able to get the documents taken care of, even as sketchy as it sounds, but what exactly do you mean when you say a portion of the truth? Somehow I don't think telling him that I'm half-ghost and that my...well that things are going to go south here because of me will help us."

Jack gave a small, sad, laugh as sat down on the sofa across from his son and the ancient ghost, "I think we'll think of something that doesn't involve that, Son. We...we can probably tell him something along the lines of us needing to make needing to make...final arrangements and that we can't do it with you here. It'll be a fragile excuse, at best, but we'll make it work...don't worry."

There was another heavy pause as what Jack suggested weighed on everybody's minds before Danny looked to Clockwork tiredly, "Fine, we've got at least a rough idea of how we're going to go about doing this then. When do I have to leave?"

"You should leave no later than Wednesday of next week." He said seriously, not wavering despite Danny's angry look, "I understand how you feel about this, Danny, but it must be done if the world has any chance whatsoever of surviving this crisis."

"Alright, fine. Is there anything else we need to know?" Danny asked, doing his best to keep the anger out of his voice. In all honesty he wasn't angry at the ghost…he knew it wasn't his fault, he was just very upset with the situation, unfortunately getting upset wouldn't fix it and he knew that.

"No…I should be heading back to my tower. You are free to tell Jazz about our discussion and what you must do, but do not tell anybody else until I tell you to." He said strictly, before pressing the button on his staff and blinking out of existence.

Danny turned to his parents who were both looking at him with badly disguised worry, "I'm going to get ready to start packing. We can talk later, if you want, but right now I need some time to think, I also want to talk to Jazz…you guys good with a family dinner tonight?"

Maddie nodded understandingly, "Of course, Danny…we understand. Tell us when you want to talk and we'll be ready. What do you want for dinner?"

"I'm thinking lasagna." Danny answered with a pained smile. Maddie nodded her head and smiled at him, knowing that he'd chosen it because it was his sister's favorite. "I'll talk to you guys later." He said as he walked up to his room.

* * *

Danny spent two hours sorting through his belongings, trying to decide what to take and what to leave with his parents. He found it depressingly easy to fit the few items he was taking with him that weren't ghost hunting gear into his backpack before turning his attention to packing most of his clothes in a suitcase. It wasn't as if he didn't have the money to buy a television or any other luxury items aside from his laptop, which he mostly used for his ghost database, it was just the simple fact that up until recently he'd been too busy between school, ghost hunting, and crime fighting when the ghosts had retreated.

Danny had almost finished packing when he accidentally knocked the little box he kept his smaller personal items in off his desk. He bent down to pick it and the spilled contents up but froze when he grabbed the emerald-stoned ring he'd given to Sam when they were dating. He sat down on his bed and stared at it numbly, his heart throbbing as he looked at her name engraved on the inside of the band.

To be honest Danny wasn't sure why he'd kept the ring for so long after he and Sam had ended their relationship. He knew there was no point in keeping it, especially since she seemed to do her best to completely ignore him whenever she saw him, Tucker wasn't any better now, but he just hadn't been able to bring himself to get rid of it. Perhaps there was a tiny part of him that had hoped that they would eventually be able to work it out, though if it did exist that had been squashed ruthlessly when she and Tucker had started dating.

What probably hurt the most about the entire situation was that it really and truly seemed as if the two of them were better off without him. Sam had moved on past her Goth stage and had made many more friends as she became more sociable, Tucker following suit though he would never give up his technology. And overall they just looked happy together, and while he was glad that they had each other that never helped the dull pain that began eating away at him whenever he saw them.

Danny was so lost in his thoughts that he hardly even noticed the soft knock on his door before Jazz let herself in, "Hey, little brother, Dad said you wanted to talk to…" She trailed off as she saw her brother look up at her, pain clear in his eyes as he held the ring.

When Jazz had heard about what had happened between Danny and Sam she'd damn near went on a rampage, particularly after seeing firsthand how Danny much pain he was in, but he'd been able to convince her otherwise, desperate to just try and forget about the situation. She knew better than to believe it would work like that. She hadn't heard about Tucker withdrawing his support from Danny until almost a month after it had happened and that time she actually did go yell at Danny's former friend, without her brother's knowledge, and had warned the boy that if he or Sam ever hurt Danny again that she would make their lives a living hell. Ever since then both of the teens had avoided her like the plague, which was probably better for everybody.

The bed underneath Danny creaked as Jazz sat down next to him and put an arm across his shoulders, looking down at the ring in understanding, "Are you okay, Danny?" She asked quietly, praying that he wouldn't push her away like he had when he was younger.

Danny let out a cold and humorless laugh, making a shiver go down Jazz's spine. "No…no I don't think I am, Jazz."

Jazz looked at him sadly as she remembered the happy boy he'd been years ago, just after getting his powers…the world had chewed him up and spit him out multiple times over the years until he'd become a sarcastic, bitter, and cynical shade of his former self. Even then she knew that he loved her and her parents more than anything else in the world, she'd known that all along it had just really hit home when she'd become his only confidant. But even in the darkest times of her life she hadn't seen Danny quite so distraught…there was something else going on, something much worse than him having painful memories of unfaithful friends.

"What's wrong, Danny?"

Danny looked up at her, his eyes filled with pain and what she recognized as self-loathing…she'd seen it on his face often enough whenever he'd failed to save somebody, "You know how there haven't been any ghosts coming around lately?" He asked suddenly, after looking at her in silence for a minute.

She nodded silently, she knew that he'd been worried sick about the lack of activity and was almost afraid to hear what he'd found out. "Did something happen?"

Danny shook his head, "Kind of…for once it was actually good on that front though." He said, and she smiled optimistically at that, "I guess that I've been scaring them pretty bad recently…kicked their asses so hard that they've all retreated to the ghost zone. They extended a treaty…pretty simple and acceptable terms, really. They stay out of Amity Park and I don't kick their asses, if I happen to see one of them in our world I get to deal with them however I want and then send them back to the ghost zone to receive punishment from their own kind."

Jazz's smile brightened at that. She knew how hard her brother had been working towards this very goal, though his sour mood made no sense with it, "That's great, Danny!"

"Yeah…that's what I said too." Danny said, smiling wryly. At her curious look Danny ran the hand that wasn't holding the ring through his hair. "Clockwork was the one that came through to deliver it though."

The smile that had graced Jazz' features died a quick death, "Oh no…"

Danny nodded, "Oh yes. He didn't have good news, as I'm sure you can imagine."

"What did he tell you?"

Danny drew and released a shaky breath before looking at her, fear clear in his eyes, "Dan's going to break free within two years...he's going to kill Clockwork and destroy the ghost zone." Jazz gasped and tightened her arm on his shoulder. "He said that I have to leave Amity Park, because he's somehow drawing in some of my excess power which would let him get out sooner. He said I need to go to Japan, I guess to stay with Uncle Dojima, until he comes back."

"You're going all the way to Japan? Did he say why?" She asked quietly.

Danny shook his head, "Not really. He said something about needing help to fight him…I'm not powerful enough to beat him alone. I can't be here when he comes through the portal…but mom and dad can't leave." He said painfully, tears pooling in his eyes, "They…they aren't going to make it."

Jazz clenched her eyes closed, much like Danny had earlier, and pulled him into a hug, her shoulders shaking. "Are you sure about that?" She asked, desperately.

"I-I'm almost certain." He answered, hating himself as he found he couldn't lie to her.

"A-and what about me?"

Danny's eyes flashed green at the question and he wrapped his arms around her protectively, "The bastard won't fucking touch you." He growled, unwilling to accept any other possibility.

"Are you sure?" She sniffled, looking up at him.

"Positive." He said, squeezing her in his arms again.

Jazz managed a sad smile as the two of them sat there hugging each other. Finally she pulled away, "When do you have to leave?" She asked, somewhat subdued as she glanced around his room and noticed the missing items and packed clothes.

"Next Wednesday at the latest, though I suppose that whenever Mom and Dad can talk to Uncle Dojima and Clockwork gets my paperwork done I'll need to go." He answered quietly clenching his fists before opening the one with the ring in it to look at it again.

Jazz looked at him sadly again as he returned to the same position he was in when she'd fist entered, "This isn't fair...why does it have to be so far away?"

He shook his head ruefully, "Apparently one of his 'associates' needs help or something, all the information he bothered to give me about it though." He muttered, somewhat bitterly.

"It'll be okay, Danny." Jazz said softly, resting her arm on his shoulder again.

Danny shrugged, "Maybe." He sighed, before looking down at the ring in his hand again.

Jazz followed his gaze and bit back a comment on how Sam wasn't worth him experiencing so much heartache instead she held out her hand in an offer she'd made several times before, "I can take it, if you want."

Danny looked between her hand and the ring for a moment, desperately trying to decide, before shaking his head closing his eyes as he clenched his fist, "Danny…I understand, but you have to let her go. I love you too much to see you put yourself through this constant misery, I know you don't want to hear it but she isn't worth your pain." Jazz told him softly.

"I know." He replied, his voice pained, "I don't...I don't think I really miss her anymore, I just...I miss having people other than my family that care about me."

Jazz could feel tears stinging at her eyes again as she listened to him, "It's okay to feel that way, Danny, but you'll never get any better if you don't let go."

Danny grimaced as he listened to her make the same argument she'd made for a year and a half. He knew that she was right, but that never made it any easier to accept it. Danny continued listening to her reasoning and slowly nodded his head, his heart pounded violently as he felt his sister's hand on top his closed fist. Taking a deep breath Danny found swallowing difficult as he felt his hand heating up with ecto-energy and moments later he opened his hand to let the already cooled chunk of gold and emerald fall to the floor loudly.

Jazz pulled her brother into another hug as she watched him melt the ring in his hand. While she hadn't expected that she decided that it was probably better that way, and when the chunk of ruined metal and gemstone hit the floor she squeezed him tighter and kissed the top of his head before standing up with him. "Do you feel any better now?" She asked tentatively.

Danny shrugged non-committedly, much as she'd expected he would, "I'm not really sure."

She nodded in understanding, "You will…I promise. It just takes time."

Danny nodded slowly before beginning to walk out of his room, "Come on, Jazz, let's go eat dinner."

Dinner had been a very subdued affair. After the initial attempts by Jazz and Jack to lighten the mood the table had fallen silent as they all ate, their minds attempting to accept what they had been told. Danny and Jazz had taken it the hardest whereas their parents had seemed to accept the rolls they would play without hesitation, they weren't happy to do so but they understood the importance of it. They had always known that they would pass after a lifetime of ghost hunting and, while they had hoped it would be peacefully, knew that there was nothing that could be done about it. The only thing they regretted about how they would go was the effect it would have on their children, and the fact that they wouldn't be there to see the rest of their lives.

Jazz had trouble accepting both her parents' fate and their acceptance to it. While she knew it was probably for the best that they understood their places so well it still hurt her to see them so ready to die just because the master of time said they would. She understood it though and didn't press the issue with them. No, her largest issues were all centered on Danny and his uncertain future. In the years since he lost his friends the two had become very close and she worried about him both as a sister and as a good friend. Jazz knew Danny was hurting badly at their parents' fate particularly since it would be Dan that was the one to cut their lives short. She also knew he was worried about her and Clockwork's very vague mention of her, if she was honest with herself she was frightened as well but she wouldn't let him know…he had enough to deal with now.

Danny, for his part, was lost in his thoughts. He constantly replayed the conversation with Clockwork, looking for any small amount of hope that his family could survive the inevitable coming of Dan. As he thought about it he realized that truly the best he could hope for is that they would be out of town when it happened, but somehow he knew that wouldn't happen. He'd decided that he would talk to Valerie and explain the situation to her and even though his parents volunteered to do it after he was gone he knew it was something he needed to do himself.

The fact that he had to leave Amity left him feeling sick to his stomach, but he knew he had to do what Clockwork told him to or there would be no chance for anybody to survive. Over the years Danny had become good at self-sacrifice, Jazz would argue that he'd become too good to the point that it was entirely unhealthy, but he recognized the need for it, being one of the only two heros in the entire town. Hell for all he knew they were the only ones in the entire state.

After dinner had been finished, the table cleared and dishes done, the Fenton family made their way to the living room where they sat and talked to each other for a few hours. They didn't say a single thing about the future that weighed heavily on each of their minds, instead they done their best to keep to lighthearted topics. Jazz told them about a college she'd done some research on in California that had a very prestigious reputation for psychology degrees and that she'd been seriously considering moving there next fall. The closest they came to talking about the situation was when they began speculating what life would be like for Danny in Japan.

After a few hours Jazz had said good night to Jack and Maddie and Danny walked with her out to her car to talk for a few more minutes before she finally left for her apartment. Once he came back in the house he'd said his own good nights to his parents and made his way upstairs to put his vest back on.

Once he'd finished getting dressed Danny silently transformed and flew through the ceiling to the roof of the ops center, turning tangible he leaned against the railing as he silently raged about the unfairness of what he was about to do, both to himself and everyone else. Finally, after several moments of internal struggle he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, flipping through his phone book until he got to Valerie he hit the call button and put the device to his ear and listened as it rang, almost wishing that she wouldn't pick up.

Suddenly there was a click as the ringing stopped, "Hello? Danny is this actually you?"

Danny shut his eyes tightly, running a hand over his face tiredly before sighing, "Yeah, Val, it's me."

He could almost hear the smile in her voice as he answered her, "Oh my god! It's been so long since we've talked to each other, I didn't know if you even still had my number!" He winced slightly as he pulled the phone away from his ear while she squealed in excitement, it seemed like she was almost as starved for attention from friends as he was. The only difference between the two of them in that regard was that while he had decided to distance himself from his peers, she was still trying to carry on a social life while being what amounted to a vigilante. He realized that he'd lost himself in that train of thought when he realized that she was still talking to him, "Hey, are you still there, Danny?"

He nodded, before realizing how stupid that was, "Y-yeah, I'm still here."

"Okay, I thought I'd lost you there for a second. So what's up, Danny? You never talk to me anymore, hell you don't really even seem to talk to anybody anymore, not since Tucker and Sam started..." She said, before trailing off, realizing her mistake, "Oh my god, I'm sorry, Danny! That was stupid of me, I just...well I haven't been talking to many people recently either and now I'm putting my foot in my mouth."

"I...no, it's okay, Val, I understand." He replied with a strained chuckle.

"Are...I mean..."He heard her let out a frustrated sigh, "Still I'm sorry." She managed to get out before trailing off, leaving the two of them in an awkward silence.

The silence continued for a few seconds before Danny sighed again, "Hey, look, Val, I'm sorry to do this to you and I know that it's starting to get late, but I need to talk to you in person. Can we meet at the park, in front of the statue?"

Valerie was quiet for a few moments before speaking, "I...guess. Danny, is something wrong?"

"No, everyth-" He started, before stopping himself and shaking his head, "Well...actually yes, everything is, Val. I should tell you now, things are messed up, and it has everything to do with ghosts this time." He said, trailing off before picking back up slowly, "Just...when you see Phantom, don't attack him, okay?"

There was silence for several seconds and then, "I can't promise anything..." Her voice was much harder than it was before, and he felt like she might have finally made at least part of the connection.

"Valerie, please just trust me, okay? All I'm asking is that when you see him you don't attack. I promise that everything will be explained."

"Fine...out of respect for our friendship I'll listen to you, but if he makes one wrong move I'm going to blast him." She replied, and before he could say anything else there was a click and all he was left with was the disconnected tone.

"That went better than I expected." Danny muttered quietly as he ended his side of the call and pulled his phone book back up to scroll through the numbers again, finally he came to the name he wanted and reluctantly hit the call button again and listened to the phone ring as he put it up to his ear again.

The phone rang several times, going on for almost a minute until the click came. Danny felt a mixed pang of hurt and anger in his chest as the call was answered. There was a heavy silence for a moment before a voice was heard on the other end, "H-hello?"

His voice brought the pain back to the forefront of his mind, the wound still feeling as fresh as if it had just happened yesterday, however now was not the time for feeling sorry for himself, and he had a very limited amount of time left before he was hung up on. Finally he spoke, and the coldness in his voice surprised even him, "Call Sam, Tucker, we need to talk. Meet me in the park at the usual spot...you _do_ remember, right?"

"Y-yeah...hey, man I don't know what this is about bu-" Tucker started, but Danny didn't let him finish, cutting off his former friend.

"This isn't the time, Tucker. Get Sam and meet me there in half an hour." He told him, before hanging up the phone and putting it back in his pocket. He knew there was a chance that one or neither of them would show up and that, even if they did, they might not bother listening to him. Unfortunately he had to at least try because the people he was meeting, his former friends, were among the most experienced ghost hunters in the United States, if not the world, and they had to know what was coming...if for no other reason than to help evacuate the city when the time came.


	2. Foggy Intentions

I don't have much of anything to say here except that you probably shouldn't expect uploads this quickly in the future.

* * *

Chapter Two: Foggy Intentions

Danny fidgeted slightly as he and quite a few other people stood on the platform, awaiting the monorail. It used to be that he didn't care one way or another about crowds but sometime during the last few years he'd began to develop a deep aversion to them, most likely due to his increasingly anti-social tendencies. Still, he couldn't help but listen as the people around him talked among themselves. "First he bags a singer, and then he has an affair with a TV announcer on the side. Do chicks really dig politicians?" A man asked curiously.

'_I'm still not sure whether Clockwork's 'gift' was worth it or not.'_ Danny thought to himself as he dealt with the strange sensation of the cipher in his mind. The old ghost's description of pain upon receiving it was decidedly understated, as he'd been visited the night before he left by Clockwork to receive both it and his paperwork and found he'd had a migraine from the time he got it to just a little under an hour ago. Now that he didn't have to contend with the headache however he found the internal translation of Japanese to English within his mind, along with English to Japanese when he was speaking, to just be _strange_. There really was no better way to describe it, other than maybe a slight itch in his brain while it processed the information, he just hoped that would go away with time due to how infuriatingly unreachable that particular sensation was.

He was suddenly pulled back out of his thoughts when he heard somebody reply to the man's question in a matter of fact tone, "Isn't it just stuff like money and connections? When you get down to it, financial and political power is what matters." Danny couldn't help but role his eyes in annoyance at the response, _'With a view like that I bet she and Vlad would get along perfectly.'_

After that Danny managed to tune the group's voices out and the monorail finally arriving just a few minutes later, much to his relief. He quickly boarded the train and made his way to the most isolated section he could find before stowing his luggage and sitting down. _'I'm sure Jazz would be thrilled to be here right now. I don't know what it is about trains but she went on and on about Japan's public transportation when we were talking on Monday.' _He smiled at the thought, before his mind drifted to a less pleasant memory of his meeting in the park, _'Well, it could have gone worse, I suppose...I mean I guess could have been raining.'_

* * *

Despite that it was late March the night was still decidedly cool as Danny landed at the meeting spot and let his invisibility lapse. _'Guess I'm the first to show up...not surprising I guess, now we'll see whether it'll be just me and Val or if Sam and Tucker bother to show up.'_ He thought to himself, leaning back against the statue and crossing his arms over his chest.

Several minutes went by before he heard the muffled hum of Valerie's hoverboard approaching the park, a few seconds later he saw her fly over once, presumably to make sure he was there, before coming back and lowering herself to the ground for a slow landing. He reluctantly pushed himself off from the statue and took a few step towards her, giving her a lazy salute for a wave, "Good to see you could make it."

Unfortunately rather than returning the greeting the Huntress raised her hand, her palm-cannon glowing dangerously as she glared at him, an expression that was lost on him due to the darkly tinted visor on her helmet, "Don't take another step, Phantom." She stated firmly, glancing around quickly as if checking for somebody else, "I only agreed to meet you here because Danny Fenton asked me to, and right now I'm not seeing him."

Danny suppressed the urge to roll his eyes as he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose tiredly, "Just hear me out, Valerie, okay? I'll explain everything in a few minutes, we're supposed to have a couple more people show up soon, and if they aren't here within five minutes then I swear I'll go on without them."

"How do I know you're not trying to spring a trap on me and are just waiting for backup?"

This time he did roll his eyes, "Please, since when have I ever tried to set a trap for you? And besides if I really wanted to fight you we both know that I wouldn't need backup." He retorted, "Just...trust me okay? I know you don't want to believe that I'm not the one that caused all of your problems which, I'd just like to point out again, I'm not, but just believe me for a few minutes. This is important."

Valerie stared at him unfalteringly for several seconds before the glow in her palm subsided and she slowly lowered her arm, "Fine, but if you aren't being straight with me I swear I'll grind your face into the asphalt." The only reply she received for a few moments was a skeptically raised eyebrow, making her cross her arms aggressively over her chest, "So who exactly are we waiting on?" She asked impatiently.

Before a response could be made the two of them heard footsteps coming towards them accompanied by slightly raised voices of a male and female, apparently in the middle of an argument, "I still don't understand why he would want to meet us here." The girl's voice said, exasperated, "He knows that neither of us are interested in dealing with ghosts anymore. Besides we haven't even talked to each other in over a year now, why the hell would he call us now?"

Danny couldn't help the pang of anger and hurtfulness that throbbed in his heart as he heard Sam's complaints, though he immediately pushed the emotions down realizing that they wouldn't help him in the least bit right now, "I don't know, Sam, okay? Who knows why Danny does anything anymore. I hardly even see him outside of school anyways, whatever it is he sounded serious so I'm pretty sure it has to be something pretty big for him to call us." Tucker answered as they rounded the corner of the statue, coming to a stop when they saw the two ghost hunters standing there.

Valerie glanced at Danny, somewhat surprised, "These were the people we were waiting on?" She asked him incredulously.

Danny gave her a sarcastic smile, "Hmph, trust me Val, I'm not thrilled about seeing them either. But in this case we have to take what we can get." He replied before turning to Sam and Tucker, his arms crossed again, "I see you finally decided to grace us with your presence."

Sam's eyes narrowed into a glare, "You're the one that called us here, asshole, we didn't have to come. In fact, now I'm really wishing we hadn't, maybe we should just go." She shot back, her voice laced with venom.

Tucker sighed as he put as hand on Sam's shoulder, "I'm not happy to be here either, Sam, but I don't think he would have called us here if it wasn't important. Though I'll admit that the way he's acting right now certainly isn't helping anything." He said softly, before pointedly looking at the two hunters again, "Anyways, why's she here?"

"I'm wondering exactly the same thing about you two." Valerie replied coldly.

"We have more right to be here than you do, witch, even if we'd rather of stayed home." Sam said tauntingly, turning her glare to the Huntress.

"What the hell do you mean _you_ have more right to be here? _I'm_ the ghost hunter here and-"

"That's enough, all of you!" Danny growled, cutting Valerie off from finishing her sentence, "You're all here because I called you here, and I called you here because very soon we're going to be facing an emergency."

The three other people gathered at there stared at him for a moment before Valerie slowly shook her head, "What do you mean, you called me here? The only reason I'm here is because Danny Fenton called me and told me to meet him here, hell the only reason I didn't attack you when I first saw you was because he told me not to!"

Sam's eyes widened in disbelief as she looked between the two of them for a few moments before she threw her hands up in exasperation, "Oh my god, seriously? She still doesn't know yet, and you called here here?! Why the hell are you wasting our time, Danny?"

Valerie stared at Sam in confusion for a moment before looking back to Danny, clearly displeased about being left out of the loop, "What the hell is she talking about? Explain this to me now or we're going to have issues." She growled venomously

Danny nodded reluctantly, "That was the plan all along, Val, I just didn't count on getting so sidetracked before we even started. I don't have time to explain everything right now but I can give you the very quick story." He sighed, dropping his arms to his sides and taking a step back from her as he released his ghost half. Valerie stared at him in shock, speechless as she saw Danny Fenton standing in front of her in the same clothes as Phantom had been, the only difference being the dark purple color of the vest he was now wearing. "The quick version is that the accident I was in when I was fourteen wasn't nearly as harmless as I played if off to be, somehow between a combination of the electricity and ectoplasm from the ghost portal my genetics were turned into a bit of a mangled mess. The easiest way to put is that I'm half dead, I've got a foot in both worlds, both as a human and a ghost, and in case you're wondering, no I'm not the only one that exists, it's just extremely rare, for obvious reasons." He explained patiently, unsurprised as she seemed to be in shock.

What he hadn't been expecting, however, was when she lunged herself at him and slugged him across the face _hard_, sending him stumbling a couple steps back, "Damn it, Danny! Why...why didn't you tell me sooner! You...I...I've been trying to kill you for so long and...you were the one that sabotaged my dad! Why would you do that? I thought we were friends, Danny!" Valerie shouted at him as her helmet retracted itself revealing the tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

Danny winced as he rubbed his jaw tenderly, glancing at Sam and Tucker who seemingly couldn't decide between being amused or concerned, he decided to ignore them and concentrate on Valerie for the moment, "Val..." He started softly taking a step towards her and putting a hand on her shoulder, "I understand why you're angry, and you have every right to be angry that I kept you in the dark for so long, but I swear to you that I didn't sabotage your dad, the entire thing was a huge accident. I really wish that I could give you the time you need to process this...it's hard, I know, but we don't have time right now." He told her gently.

Valerie blinked rapidly several times, trying to blink the tears away and failing horribly as they started falling down her face, "Why didn't you tell me?" She asked him, repeating her earlier question.

Sam looked at her incredulously at the question, "Are you insane?! You were trying to kill him! Of course he didn't tell you, I can't believe he's telling you now!"

Both Danny and Valerie shot glares at her, "Sam, you're not helping, and like I said we don't have much time right now. If we were only here for me to talk to Valerie you two sure as hell wouldn't be here." He said, pointedly ignoring her glare.

Valerie's glare lifted at his words and she looked back at him in confusion, "If this isn't what we're her for then what is? What could be bigger than this?!"

There was a heavy silence for a few moments, broken only by Valerie's occasional sniff, before Danny started, "Guys...I'm leaving. I have to go to Japan to do something pretty important, I guess, I'm really not sure...Clockwork said it would take a couple of years." He began, mentioning Clockwork almost as an afterthought, making both Tucker and Sam pale while Valerie just looked at him in confusion, making him slap his forehead in annoyance with himself, "Clockwork is the Master of Time, Val." He explained, watching her eyes go wide as she realized what it could mean.

Tucker looked uncomfortable as he brought attention to himself, "I...understand why that would matter to Valerie, since she's still a ghost hunter, but why are you bothering to tell us? Besides that there hasn't been a ghost sighting in...well, forever."

Danny shook his head and sighed heavily, "That would be because the ghost council recently extended a treaty to me. They're supposed to stay out of our world and I don't beat the ever-loving shit out of them whenever I see them." He explained, though he was interrupted before he could finish his explanation.

Sam let out of sigh of annoyance as she shook her head, "Then why the hell are you even bothering any of us with this at all?" She asked exasperatedly.

"Because-" He replied, fixing her with a glare, "like I was going to say before you interrupted me, I need Valerie to help my parents make sure that the treaty is enforced. If they figure out that I'm not here then they might try to go back on the deal. And...there's also something else..." He said, trailing off for a moment only to be interrupted again, by Tucker.

"Wait...your parents aren't going with you to Japan? Where the hell are you going to be staying?"

Danny couldn't help the low growl that he spoke in, "Yes, my parents are going to be staying here, Tucker. And it doesn't matter where I'll be staying because it doesn't concern _you_." He said dangerously, before continuing in a less hostile tone, "And the reason why you _are_ here is because of something else Clockwork told me. While I'm gone my...alternate future self is going to break free and kill him." Danny said quietly, unable to look up at the group as he heard them gasp collectively, "He's going to wreck the ghost zone first and then he's going to make his way to our world. I-" He paused painfully for a moment, "I think he's going to destroy Fentonworks and everybody inside when he comes through. What I need you guys for is to help evacuate the city and I _need_ you to contact me if Valerie is too busy fighting to call me."

The entire group looked at him in horror for several moments before Sam shook her head, "N-no, this isn't happening, it won't. He can't get out and there's no way he's coming back here." She muttered, crossing her arms in front of her, obviously uncomfortable.

Danny's eyes flashed green at her denial, "Damn it, Sam, do you think I would make this shit up if it wasn't true? He's going to kill my family, Sam! And there's nothing, _absolutely nothing_ I can do to prevent it! I'm trying to give you guys a chance to prevent that for your families!" He shouted, suddenly not caring who might hear him.

Sam shook her head again, violently, "No, I don't believe it. And even if it is true it doesn't matter, we're not involved in your life anymore, Danny! This is your problem, not ours, don't try and push it off on us!" She shot back, before turning on her heel and walking away, "I'm going home...don't ever call me again, Danny."

Tucker stared at her sadly before looking back at Danny, "I...I'll talk to her, Danny. I'll do what I can if it happens, but I...look, she's right in that we aren't with you anymore, man. We're done with ghost hunting, we were done a year and a half ago. Like I said, I'll try to help evacuate if this actually happens but other than that leave us out of it." He said quietly, before turning to chase after Sam.

The two ghost hunters watched the two of them go disbelievingly in silence, before Danny numbly turned to look at Valerie who turned to him as well, "I...I understand if you're scared, Val, and I know it's hard to accept this but I need your help if I'm going to get back in time. Please...please don't tell me the same thing as they did."

Valerie blinked at him in silent shock for several moments before a look of anger crossed her face and she slapped him, "Do you really think I'm anything like either of them?!" She asked angrily, obviously insulted at the question.

Despite the pain and the visible slap mark across his cheek Danny gave her a grateful smile, "I didn't think you were...but then again I also thought that even though we gave up our friendship a long time ago they would at least see the seriousness of this. Apparently I was wrong about them though." He muttered, disappointedly.

The Huntress shrugged, giving him a small smile, "We'll be alright without them." She said confidently, before her face softened, "But...are you okay, Danny? This can't be easy for you."

He opened his mouth to reply but nothing came out, bowing his head he gave her a sad smile, "I...I'll live. I have to, after all, right?"

"That's not an answer, Danny." She said gently, raising a hand to his cheek and leaning closer to him.

Danny blushed brightly at her closeness, "Val, I-I'm sorry, you're a good friend, and I should have spent more time with you these last couple years, but I don-"

"Don't ruin this for me, Danny...I'm probably not going to get another chance. Just indulge me once, okay?" Valerie whispered her own skin slightly darker as she leaned in and captured his lips in a kiss before he could argue with her. While Danny wasn't sure how to proceed at first he gave into her after a moment and rested his hands on her hips as he returned the kiss. However while it was nice there was no spark to it, and as she slowly pulled away from him they both knew it would be the last one they shared, judging by the disappointed smile on her face. "Thank you for letting me do that, Danny." She said quietly, unable to look him in the eye before continuing, "When he comes through I'll make sure that you know about it, and I'll do my best to fight him off as long as I can."

He lowered his head at the unspoken belief that she wouldn't be there when he got back to Amity Park, "Thank you, Val. Just so you know out of everybody I'm leaving behind you're the best ghost hunter...and my only real friend. I'll miss you while I'm gone...we'll have to catch up some time." He said, attempting to be optimistic as they pulled away from each other.

A sad smile crossed her face and she nodded slowly, "Sure...but only if you promise that it'll be a date." She shot back jokingly.

Danny couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped his lips as he transformed into Phantom, "But what if I get a girlfriend while I'm there and bring her back to meet everybody?" He asked, mock seriously.

Valerie grinned playfully, "Well, then you'll just have to explain to her that she's going to have to share for a night. I'm sure she'll understand."

He nodded, "Alright then...it's a date." He said, grinning as she blushed lightly, though his grin fell as he prepared to start flying, "Just...be careful, Val. It'll be really hard for us to hang out when I get back if one of us gets dead."

"That goes double for you, Danny...at least I know what I'm going to be doing here, there's no telling what will happen in Japan."

"I will, Val. I-...just remember, this isn't goodbye, it's see you later." He managed to say, before taking flight, knowing he needed to leave or they'd be talking more for hours into the night and he had to deal with school tomorrow, and all that would come with getting ready to transfer out of it.

* * *

Danny sighed as he shook his head, dispelling the memories of the meeting. _'Dwelling on it now won't do me any good...I think I should just try and get some sleep. It was almost impossible on the way over here with that damned migraine.'_ He thought, before leaning his seat back and closing his eyes, feeling himself drift away almost immediately as darkness descended upon him.

He wasn't sure how long it was before he felt himself begin to stir, for all he could tell it may have been seconds or hours, but as he groggily opened his eyes and looked around he knew immediately that he wasn't on the train anymore. Danny looked around slowly, taking in the surroundings, there was a soft blue light emanating behind two fuzzy figures. It took a few seconds for his vision to clear enough to see them, showing them as a somewhat odd-looking blonde woman with golden eyes, the uniform she was dressed in was the same shade of blue as the walls and couch that she sat on. The figure sitting to left of her was an older man dressed in a butler uniform, his sparse amount of silver hair framed a prominent bald spot on his head, his eyes were bloodshot and seemed to bulge slightly from their sockets, his ears were pointed much like how an elf's would be depicted. However his nose was easily his most noticeable feature, it stuck out several inches and his folded hands rested underneath it as he grinned at Danny.

Normally Danny would already have jumped up at having been in a place like his with two strange people, but he found that he had very little energy. After several seconds of struggling he managed to sit up straight and look at his apparent captors with narrowed eyes, rather than looking concerned the old man's smile only seemed to widen, "Welcome to the Velvet Room..." He said warmly, his voice not holding even the smallest tinge of malevolence to it.

Suddenly Danny felt as if whatever had forced him into his groggy state had been lifted and he found moving just as easy as it normally would be, giving him the chance to take in more of his surroundings. Blue walls, two couches, a wooden bar with several bottles behind glass panes. There were blue curtains drawn at each window, which brought him to his next discovery about where he was, fog was drifting by outside and it appeared as if they were moving. It seemed they were in a very expensive car, probably a limousine, _'I'm willing to bet that even Vlad would hesitate to spend enough money to buy this car...everything about it just screams rich.'_

Danny was shook out of his observations when the old man chose to continue speaking, "Ahh...it seems we have a guest with an intriguing destiny..." He said, trailing off with a pleased chuckle, "My name is Igor, this place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It is a room that only those who have entered into a contract may enter..." Igor explained calmly, pausing for a moment to smile at the confused look on the half-ghost's face, _'Is this Clockwork's 'associate' that he mentioned? He certainly seems the type...and I can't think of any other 'contract' I might have entered into, though I'd really hesitate to call Clockwork forcing me to come here me agreeing to a contract.'_ Danny thought ruefully, before realizing Igor had started speaking again.

"It may be that such a fate awaits you in the near future. Now then, why don't you introduce yourself?" Igor said with a smile, even though Danny couldn't help the feeling that he already knew exactly who he was.

Danny hesitated for a moment, thinking on his options before nodding, "I would, but I'm curious as to which name you want...do you want the Human or the Phantom?"

Igor chuckled at his response while the woman just raised a confused eyebrow at the question, "Hehe...Clockwork did tell me you were a sharp one, Mister Fenton. I will call you whatever you wish me to, all you must do is tell me your preference."

Danny looked at him with surprise before letting a small smile pass his face, "In that case you can just call me, Phantom...it makes it easier to keep my two worlds separate if people who only know me from one of them calls me the appropriate name."

Igor nodded approvingly, "I understand...now, let's take a look into your future, shall we?"

A silent stare was all the response the half-ghost gave as Igor held a hand a few inches above the table-top for a few seconds before there was a sudden flash of blue light and a deck of strange cards appeared face down on the table. _'Well that's a hell of a trick...pretty flashy, I bet Dad would love to see this.'_

"Tell me, Phantom, do you believe in fortune telling?"

Danny raised an eyebrow at the question, "Well...I guess I don't _not_ believe in it. Given everything I've seen I wouldn't be surprised if some of it was real. Besides, I've met Clockwork, remember?" He replied carefully. The truth was that while he felt like he couldn't dismiss the thought of it, he was still somewhat skeptical of the idea.

"That is very true. Now, each reading is done with the same cards, yet the results are always different." Igor explained with a chuckle, amusement clear in his eyes, "Life itself follows the same principles, doesn't it?"

Danny couldn't help a slight chuckle at the statement, drawing a slightly disapproving look from Igor's assistant. _'Or whatever she's supposed to be...wish she wouldn't look at me like that though, her eyes kind of creep me out.'_ He thought distractedly, though his attention was immediately pulled back to the cards when they began moving around the table, apparently shuffling themselves on their own. _'Alright, I take it back, THAT's a cool and flashy trick.'_

The cards continued shuffling themselves for a few seconds before finally slowing to a stop. The moment the cards stopped moving Igor reached out and flipped one over, Danny looked at it curiously and though he could make out the vague shape he was unsure whether he actually knew what it was. Thankfully, it seemed that was irrelevant because Igor was seemingly happy to translate for him, "Hm...The Tower in the upright position represents the immediate future. It seems as though a terrible catastrophe is imminent." The old man muttered, seemingly in deep thought.

'_Big surprise there...at least it can't mean Dan coming back. Not yet at least, he did say imminent, after all.'_

"The card indicating the future beyond that is...The Moon, in the upright position. This card represents...'Hesitation' and 'mystery'... Very interesting indeed. It seems you will encounter a misfortune at your destination, and a great mystery will be imposed upon you."

'_Well obviously the misfortune is almost a given with my luck...but a mystery? I mean I guess I've tracked down quite a few people and ghosts in the last couple years, and my 'skills of deduction' are better than most I guess...but I've never really dealt with mystery before. Well, unless you count me being a mystery to other people, maybe...argh, screw it I'm not going to get anywhere without more information. This is just as frustrating as Clockwork's half-answers.'_

The half-ghost's thoughts were interrupted as Igor continued speaking, "In the coming days, you will enter into a contract, after which you will return here."

Danny raised an eyebrow at that, _'Which raises the question of how I even got here in the first place, now that I think about it.'_

"The coming year is a turning point in your destiny. If the mystery goes unsolved, your future may very well be lost." Igor paused at that, looking at him meaningfully.

'_Wait...my destiny? My future could be lost? Is he talking about Dan? Did Clockwork tell him about that? What the hell does that even mean anyways? Could it mean I'll turn into him if- No! That won't happen, I won't let it, that's all there is to it.'_ Danny's internal struggle didn't go unnoticed and when he glanced back at Igor and his assistant they both had looked at him differently, Igor seemed to understand his plight while the assistant was looking as confused as she had been since he'd introduced himself as Phantom, however the silence didn't last long before Igor continued.

"My duty is to provide assistance to our guests to ensure that _doesn't_ happen." Igor said firmly, though his smile was wide as ever as he swiped his hand across the table, vanishing the cards and as he turned his attention back to Danny there was a small flash of apparent surprise on his face, "Ah! It appears that I've neglected to introduce my assistant to you. This is Margaret. She is a resident of this room, like myself."

The golden-eyed woman turned back to him, the curiosity on her face replaced with a mask of professionalism, "My name is Margaret, I am here to accompany you through your journey."

Danny raised an eyebrow at the coolness in her voice, though he didn't question it as Igor began speaking again, though his voice somehow seemed further away than it had before. "We shall attend to the details another time."

The half-ghost's vision began to darken and he glanced around tiredly, suddenly feeling the exhaustion settle back on his shoulders.

"Until then, farewell."

And then all of Danny's world faded back to black.

* * *

Danny blinked groggily as he woke up, not feeling any less tired than when he had faded to sleep. He had vague memories flashing in his mind but he couldn't seem to grasp any of them, leading him to lean back in his seat before letting out a sigh of frustration. _'I know something important happened...but every time I think I remember something I lose it...'_ He thought angrily as he turned to look out the window at the countryside that was speeding by. The view was nice at least, and it helped him relax.

It had been years since Danny had slept well. He didn't think it was insomnia, at least it didn't start out like that anyways, but after so long of nightly battles he'd been forced to become a very light sleeper, as to not miss his ghost sense going off, and that was before he'd had to start doing it on his own.

When Team Phantom turned into a solo act Danny found that finding time to sleep was difficult, to say the least, and it resulted in him being forced to adapt to a small handful of hours where he was able to sleep at night, and up until recently even that wasn't guaranteed. Even once the ghosts had stopped coming through the portal he hadn't been able to sleep well, he was too nervous about what the ghost zone might be up to, after Clockwork's revelation it'd been more about nightmares of Dan and being kept awake by his mind wandering to his future in Japan. In short, Danny had been in a constant state of exhaustion for two years now, and he expected little would change on that front, even with his ghost hunting responsibilities being stripped from him.

Danny was torn from his thoughts when his cell phone vibrated in his pocket, he pulled it out and opened up the message he'd received, blinking in annoyance a couple of times as his mind translated the neat Japanese characters for him.

_Meet us outside Yasoinaba Station at 4PM._

The half-ghost's eyes flicked to the clock on his phone as he closed the message. _'3:45...I guess that means we'll probably be getting there soon.' _His thoughts were interrupted as the intercom crackled to life to announce that they would be arriving at the station in a few minutes. _'Well, speak of the devil.'_ He stood up to crack his neck and back before turning to pull his backpack and suitcase from the luggage rack as the train began to grind to a halt.

Danny couldn't help the small sigh as he shouldered his backpack, reflecting on the fact that everything he owned was either on him or in either of the two bags he had, which meant it was almost solely clothes, aside from his laptop. He shook his head to dispel the thought as he stepped out onto the platform and made his way through the station, as he walked out of the building he saw a middle aged man in slightly wrinkled clothes waving at him, a small girl standing next to him. He forced a small smile onto his face as he walked over to them and grasped the man's offered hand in a firm shake.

"Heh, you're even more handsome than in your photo." The man said with a grin.

Danny raised an eyebrow, curious as to how he had a photo of him, before shrugging. _'Mom probably sent one to him on the Internet.'_

"Welcome to Inaba. I'm Ryotaro Dojima, I'll be looking after you." Dojima continued, before letting his smile fade slightly. "Let's see...I'm your mother's younger brother in-law...and that about sums it up. I'll be honest I was a little surprised to hear from her after so long." He said, somewhat apprehensively, though it seemed that he was only concerned about the situation.

"I...understand, Sir, it was a bit of a shock for me too...but it's nice to meet you, even if the circumstances aren't really perfect." Danny replied, with a small smile.

For a second Danny thought he saw a small frown on Dojima's face, however it quickly passed as the older man nodded, "I bet. You probably don't remember but we've actually met. I've changed your diapers before, you know!" He said, with a short laugh. The man's grin was slightly infectious as Danny found himself smiling at that.

The girl shifted next to them, prompting Dojima to push her up in front of him with a gentle smile, "This here is my daughter." He said, his voice mixing both pride and warmth as he introduced her, "Come on, Nanako, introduce yourself to your cousin."

The little girl, Nanako, seemed overly nervous and bashful, it took her a few moments before she mumbled out a small, barely audible, "Hello..." It was all she was able to get out before blushing and scrambling to hide behind her father, obviously not used to meeting new people, that probably went double for new 'family'.

"What are you so shy for?" Dojima asked, unable to control his laughter.

Nanako's face scrunched up in childish anger, making her even more cute, as she slapped Dojima's back in protest.

"Ow! Haha!" Dojima's laughter doubled even as he jumped lightly at the slap, Nanako's face flushing even further. Dojima smiled at the girl before turning his attention back to Danny, "Well, then...let's get going. My car's over there."

Danny nodded and turned, but before he could begin to follow his guardian he brushed up against somebody going the other way. He was slightly surprised that he hadn't seen her before, normally he was rather observant of his surroundings, though to be fair he was pretty tired. Before he could dismiss it from his mind though he heard a voice.

"Hey..."

He turned in surprise, glancing up and down at the girl he'd run into before. He couldn't help but feel his mood darken as he realized how much her plaid skirt and bulky boots reminded him of Sam, however before his temper could darken any further she held something out to him, her onyx eyes looking at him impatiently. "You dropped this."

Danny skeptically reached out and took the piece of paper from her, realizing as he looked at it that it was the instructions his parents had printed out for his journey to Inaba, "Thanks..." He replied, somewhat surprised at the help.

"Whatever. All I did was pick it up." She said quietly, before folding her arms across her chest. She was obviously trying to look defiant, however it only made her appear slightly lost.

"Still, I appreciate it." Danny shrugged, looking her in the eye before she glanced away. He stood there for a few seconds longer before nodding to her and turning around following Dojima to his car. He could feel the girl still staring at him, but he didn't care. He wasn't good at talking with people anymore...as if he ever had been, and even if he was he didn't see the point in trying to make friends. Even ignoring the fact that doing so would just make them targets for Vlad, Dan, and any other enemies he might make...after all _that_ was something was actually good at. Aside from that he'd only be here for two years before he had to leave and every time he'd managed to make friends in the past they'd made deep bonds with each other...he couldn't risk letting that happen again and repeating the heartbreak of his friends abandoning him all over again, a situation that was sure to happen in this case as he would eventually leave Japan.

He shook his head as he joined the two Dojimas in the car, shaking his head at the thoughts running through his head. He'd do just fine relying on himself for entertainment, books, movies, and music would do well enough, as well as the mind puzzles he'd taken up within the last year when his responsibilities as Phantom didn't get in the way that is. _'I can't believe that I actually miss ghost hunting and playing hero...'_ He thought incredulously as he continued considering ways to avoid going insane from a lack of anything to do for two years.

Several minutes later the car pulled to a stop at a gas station, shaking Danny out of his thoughts as Dojima and Nanako got out, followed by himself. He glanced around curiously at the small shopping district as the older man asked her if she could go to the bathroom by herself, followed by the gas station attendant teasing her lightly about the direction it was in, much to the girl's frustration.

Dojima and the attendant made some small talk, though he didn't pay any attention to it. Something here felt...wrong. He didn't know what it was, but the hairs on the back of his neck were standing up and every instinct that he'd been forced to hone since he'd started going into combat regularly was screaming at him that something here was dangerous. He trusted his instincts more than anything except his intelligence, and even then that took second fiddle sometimes, however before he could figure out what was wrong with the place his thoughts were interrupted.

"Are you in high school?" The attendant asked, her voice breaking his concentration. Danny glanced back to her in surprise at being addressed, realizing suddenly how strange looking she was with hair almost as white as his ghost form's and eyes a somewhat unsettling shade of red. She had a somewhat seasoned air about her, seeming like she was extremely confident in whatever abilities she had, and just looking at her made him think she could probably put up a decent fight if she wanted to.

She seemed to sense his confusion and smiled in amusement, "Does it surprise an American how little there is to do here? I bet you don't hear much about our countryside in your country, do you? There's not much to do around here and I'm sure you'll get bored fast. You'll either be hanging out with your friends or doing part-time jobs." She paused for a moment before seeming to think of something, "Speaking of which, we're looking for part-time help right now. We don't mind if you're a student. Give it some thought, why don't you?" She finished, with a friendly smile as she offered her hand to him in a shake. Her grip was strong and Danny couldn't help thinking that he was probably right about her being able to hold her own in a fight.

After the handshake the attendant dismissed herself, getting back to work as Nanako made her way back, looking at him with a small amount of concern on her face, something that increased as the clouds in the area seemed to disperse, the bright light helping the headache from before begin to return to him. "...Are you okay?" The little girl asked, still shy but seemingly concerned for him. "Did you get car sick?"

Danny felt a small smile spread across his face, despite the pain growing in his head, "I don't think so...I think I'm just tired, it's been a long trip." He replied gently.

A few moments later Dojima made his way back to them, holding a cigarette in his mouth, "What's wrong? You okay?" He asked, his voice almost unchanged by the obstruction of his cigarette, a feat Danny could only wonder on.

"Uh...yeah, I'm alright. Just a small headache."

The older man nodded understandingly, "Makes sense, I guess. It was a long trip for you, why don't you take a quick walk and get some fresh air, just tell us when you're ready to go."

Danny nodded, "Alright, thanks." He replied tiredly before cracking his neck and wandering down the street, figuring that if nothing else he'd at least get the chance to look around the area. He'd only taken a few steps away from the station when he noticed a book store on the corner. _'Well that's a good start...even if there isn't anything else worth remembering here at least I'll be able to get some books to read. Ugh...they'll probably all be in Japanese, of course...still better than nothing. Wait...is that a suit of Samurai armor? That's so cool!'_

He spent a few minutes checking out the armor before moving on, noticing a small tofu shop just down the street from it, but he immediately ignored it. He didn't much care for tofu even before dating Sam and after the amount that he'd ate during that fiasco he felt that he'd had enough of it to last him a lifetime. Besides if he needed something to eat he'd become more than proficient in the kitchen on his own. _'Really I didn't have much choice, given Mom's tendency to mess up simple recipes or to infuse the food with ectoplasm. Mom and Dad are geniuses but aside from making fudge neither of them have any talent in the kitchen...I wonder how I managed to get as good as I did, not even Jazz managed to pick that skill up.'_ Danny shrugged and moved on, taking in a few more of the shops in the small district before making his way back to the gas station, not wanting Dojima to get bored waiting on him.

"How are you feeling? Ready to get back into the car?" Dojima asked, concern clear in his face, even if wasn't in his voice.

Danny nodded with a slightly embarrassed smile, "Yeah...sorry about that."

Dojima chuckled and shook his head, "Don't worry about it. Let's hit the road."

* * *

Two hours later Danny and his newly met family sat at the table in the living room, Dojima had shown him the room he'd be using for the next two years once they got in the house and he'd quickly left his bags in the room when his uncle had said dinner would be in just a few minutes. The half-ghost was slightly nervous about it, seeing as how he'd already embarrassed himself by forgetting to take his shoes off when he came into the house and while Dojima had been slightly amused by his stumbling over himself to apologize Danny was less amused. He barely knew anything about the culture here and as every second he thought about it his dread grew, after all even though he had already determined that he wasn't here to make friends he also didn't want to consistently embarrass himself or insult people by his ignorance.

Danny shook his head with a small sigh, trying to ignore the worries realizing that there wasn't anything he could do about it aside from learn from his mistakes and tread carefully in social situations. His thoughts were interrupted by a loud hiss and crack when Dojima opened up a soda, a smile clear on his face as he sat down across the table from him, "All right, let's have a toast." The older man said, holding his can of soda up slightly.

Despite his previous thoughts Danny couldn't help but smile in response as he raised his own drink, something called TaP soda, it seemed to be an equivalent to Pepsi, while Nanako beamed while holding her glass of orange juice up with both hands. Honestly it'd been a while since he'd drank much soda, he liked it well enough, but when he found himself needing to keep himself in shape he found that water was a better choice. _'Besides, water tastes pretty good on itself, as long as the pipes aren't going bad or they don't mess up the chemicals they put in it at the purifying plant.'_

He was shaken out of his thought again as Dojima started speaking, "So...your parents are pretty busy then, I guess. Have they told you much about what they're doing or why they need it?" He asked carefully, seeming to watch his face closely.

Danny grimaced and nodded his head a little, "I...have a pretty good idea what's going on."

Dojima's face seemed to soften a bit at his answer, "Well...I'm sorry to hear about that, I didn't really get to know your Dad much but your Mom and I used to talk quite a bit before we both got really busy." His uncle trailed off lightly, before picking back up, "Still aside from that I'm sorry that you had to come all the way over here for two years...it's tough being a kid."

The half-ghost gave a small laugh, "Well...if it wasn't for the situation back home I don't think I'd mind much. I've been curious about other countries for a little while...and I'm always being told how most Americans could benefit a lot from seeing more than just our corner of the world. I'll admit we're probably pretty arrogant as far as that goes." He replied with a small smile.

The older man grinned in response and Danny realized that this entire time he'd been being led along as his uncle tried to judge his character. _'Well, at least I'm not going to have to deal with somebody who's always taking things at face value...but I'm going to have to be careful around him or I might have to deal with somebody else who knows I'm half-ghost. I mean...he seems like a good enough guy, but you never know how somebody's going to react to learning something like that.'_

"Well, as long as you're here, you're part of the family. So make yourself at home." Dojima said, surprising Danny more than just a little bit before his grin came back. He had been grateful that his uncle was willing to take him in at all, never mind for as long as it would be, but he didn't expect him to be so welcoming so quickly.

"I...thank you, Sir." Danny managed to get out, much more formal than he'd normally be in an effort not to tread on any toes.

Dojima blinked in surprise, a slightly confused look crossing his face, "Are...you into military stuff or something?" He asked, curiously.

Danny blushed in embarrassment at the question, realizing he must have sounded a little stupid, "I...uh, no. Sorry, I just...I'm a little nervous, and I'm not good at talking to people and..." Danny let out a slightly annoyed sigh and palmed his face in frustration at himself, prompting a laugh from his uncle and cousin.

When Danny looked back up at them in surprise he could see a smirk on Dojima's face, "I told you to make yourself at home, you don't have to worry about embarrassing yourself here...at least not by how you talk anyways. Now come on, let's eat."

A grin crossed Danny's face again at that as he clumsily picked his chopsticks up, unfamiliar with the utensils but determined to learn how to use them on his own as he ignored the amused smirk on Dojima's face. They were barely a few minutes into the meal when Dojima's phone went off loudly. "Who's calling at this hour?" He asked with a sigh.

The half-ghost raised an eyebrow at that, it was a fair question, he supposed. Normally the only people who would be calling during dinner were people in emergency jobs or family. _'Well, I guess that's probably a good clue then, isn't it, Fenton?'_ He thought as he watched his uncle stand up and walk across the room while answering the phone.

"Looks like I made the right decision to skip the booze..." Dojima muttered quietly before turning to the two at the table, "Sorry, but I've got to go take care of some business. Go ahead and eat without me."

Nanako stood up and walked with her dad to the door, though it was obvious she wasn't happy that he was leaving just at dinner, "I don't know how late I'll be back...Nanako you help him out, okay?"

The little girl nodded sadly, "Okay..." She replied quietly as Dojima opened the door, revealing the pouring rain outside.

"Nanako, it's raining outside. What did you do with the laundry?"

"I already brought it in!" She called from the house in response.

"Alright. Well, I'm off!" Dojima called back before shutting the door.

Nanako slowly made her way back to the table and turned the TV on before sitting back down at the table. "Let's eat." She muttered quietly.

The rest of dinner passed in silence, aside from the report from the TV, mostly repeating the story you heard being talked about at the train station. Danny couldn't help the small burst of anger at the story, despite normally ignoring celebrity news. _'I can't believe that I'm even bothering to listen to it, but...god, I hate people who cheat. It's not right, the bastard deserves whatever he has to pay to his wife.'_

After the story broke to commercial Danny glanced at Nanako, feeling slightly awkward in the silence. He stumbled through his mind trying to find something to talk with her about, anything to break the awkwardness before he realized the answer was in front of him, "So...what does you dad do?" He asked quietly.

Nanako jumped slightly at the question, apparently surprised that he was even speaking to her. _'Probably thinks I'm just as quiet as she is...not like I've given her much to dispute that.'_

After a small pause she answered slowly, "He...investigates stuff. Like crime scenes. He's a detective." She replied, awkwardly, before picking the remote up and changing the channel, "That was boring..." She said quietly.

Danny nodded in agreement, but before he could say anything another commercial came on and the little girl gasped in excitement, _"At Junes every day is customer appreciation day. Come see for yourself and get in touch with our products."_ The TV flashed to a shopping center, apparently a recent addition to the town.

'_Well, at least there'll be something other than the book store to do around here.'_

"_Every day's great at your Junes!~"_ The commercial ended with a jingle that Danny had to admit was pretty catchy.

Nanako laughed happily and repeated the song, "Every day's great at your Junes!~" The half-ghost raised an eyebrow in surprise, though couldn't help the smile on his face at her happiness. The little girl blushed as she realized the attention she brought to herself, "Aren't you going to finish your dinner?" She asked shyly.

Danny laughed lightly and nodded. _'Well...maybe it wouldn't hurt to get to know my family at least. I mean...what are the chances that my enemies are going to find out about them?'_

The rest of dinner continued quietly, though the awkwardness was gone. Once both of them were done Danny helped her clean up before going up to his room, feeling the exhaustion from the trip coming back to him. His suitcase, backpack, and the school uniform Dojima had got for him were ignored in favor of getting his bedding ready. The second he laid down in his futon he curled up in his blankets and passed out.


	3. Breaking Down the Borders

Well, here we go with the third chapter. I appreciate the reviews, favorites and followers that I've received so far, and hope that the story continues to interest you, I know it's still going for me. Next chapter we'll finally be getting into the story proper and there will be a few changes there as well, pretty much exclusively centered around Danny.

Until then, please enjoy this chapter and feel free to offer your views on it, positive and negative. I may or may not agree with them, but I'm still interested to hear them. And who knows? While I'm more or less set on how the course of the story, beyond the obvious story-line that's already set in front of me, your ideas could spark some interest.

**Breaking Down The Borders**

Danny squinted as he slowly became aware of his surroundings, everything was covered in a blindingly bright white, everything aside from him at least. He could feel his instincts shouting at him that he was in danger once again, just as he had at the gas station, after glancing around one more time and seeing nobody else around Danny transformed before starting to explore the area, barely paying attention to the bricks that began appearing as he walked. _'I don't like this...this is twice now that I've been taken somewhere when I went to sleep. This doesn't seem like the tricks of any ghosts I've ran into before so maybe its something else. It doesn't matter right now though, right now all that matters is getting out of here.'_

The half-ghost continued wandering for a few minutes, the fog surrounding him and obscuring everything beyond just a few feet in front of him putting him even more on edge than he already was.

_Do you seek the truth?_

Danny jumped at the voice, spinning around quickly as he charged an ectoblast in his hand, only to find that there was nobody in sight. He squinted through the fog desperately for a few more seconds before slowly letting the energy disperse from his palm when he couldn't find anything and the voice seemed to go silent. The half-ghost let out a shaky breath and continued on the path, "Wonderful mess you've got yourself into this time, Phantom." He grumbled quietly.

_If it's the truth you desire, come and find me..._

The voice was obviously coming from ahead of him this time, and though it didn't make him feel any better about the situation it at least gave him a clearer destination than he'd had before. He continued on for a few feet before running into a wall...or more like a door that was trying to look like a wall, he couldn't be sure. What he _was_ sure of was that it was extremely out of place in the white fog. Danny cautiously approached it and turned intangible, stepping through the wall, only to watch it shatter away as he passed through it.

The room he found himself standing in after that was even worse than the path he'd been walking before and if he didn't know that he could fly he felt that he might even be a bit panicked at finding himself standing on what seemed to be solidified fog with nothing else in view, not even the door way that he had stepped through. Suddenly he caught a glimpse of a figure in front of him in the fog, it looked like it could be a woman, though with as tall as it was he couldn't be completely sure, particularly having seen much stranger things than a feminine man in his life.

_So...you are pursuing me..._ The echoing voice whispered, a darkly amused chuckle accompanying it, _Try all you like._

The figure stepped back into the fog, blending in with it as more of it poured into the area. But even having lost sight of it he could still _feel_ the presence...it felt a lot like his ghost sense, though significantly more foreboding. Despite the feeling of dread the half-ghost chased after it. _'I don't know what's going on here or who, or even what, that person is, but I'm sure as hell going to find out.'_

Danny's frustration was interrupted as he sensed the entity just in front of him. His hands balled into fists and he launched himself into an attack towards the figure, only to find himself pushed back as if it was being protected by some unseen force field, he quickly dodged a counter attack from the figure, backing away slightly as he considered his next attack.

_Hmm...it appears you can see a little inside this fog..._

The half-ghost's already glowing eyes flashed a little brighter at that, his anger rising at being talked to with such little respect, reminding him of Vlad's arrogant speeches to him. Danny launched himself in another attack, kicking at the entity's head in anger this time actually connecting, though it seemed to do little damage. Just as quickly as the attack managed to hit it the figure flung him away again, sending the ghost tumbling through the air before righting himself and landing on his feet roughly.

_I see...that is very interesting information, indeed...even now you are learning._ The echoing voice whispered, seeming slightly surprised at his ability to hit it.

_But, you'll not catch me so easily. If the truth is what you seek then your search will be much more difficult._

Danny seethed as he spun around even as the fog thickened, blocking Danny's sight even further, the half-ghost growled in frustration. He felt something odd tugging at the back of his mind as if it wanted to be used but he ignored it as he charged an ectoblast in both of his hands. Danny rushed the figure one more time, letting loose with both blasts towards it while charging more energy in his body as he lashed out physically at the being but all he hit was air as the figure vanished further into the fog, seeming surprised as it finally responded to his attacks.

He was thrown back by whatever force the being had summoned and slammed into an invisible wall, _hard. _The ghost groaned and slumped to the floor as the figure spoke again, its surprise evident in the voice this time.

_What kind of power is this? What ARE you?_

'_That's right...there's a reason the ghosts are afraid of me, Lady...and you're going to get real familiar with it if I find you again.'_ Danny couldn't help but feel a small sense of bitter amusement at the question he'd been asking himself about it for the entire fight, however before he could respond to it he felt himself slipping away again, and the white world faded into darkness.

* * *

Danny let out a small hiss as the morning sun shined on his face through the window while he woke up, only slightly less tired than he was before going to bed. _'Ugh...figures, even without ghosts around I can't get a good night's sleep. Dreams probably didn't help...'_

After taking a minute to let his eyes adjust to the light in the room Danny stood up slowly, his knees and back popping and cracking as he done so, and began getting ready for the day. Normally he would have despised the idea of a school uniform but it seemed that this school's was relatively informal compared to what he thought it might be. He pulled the jacket on last, after pinning the second year emblem on the collar, though he left it unbuttoned. _'At least it's better than the one Vlad enforced for a while.'_

Just as he was getting ready to leave the room there was a knock at the door. "Breakfast is ready..."

Danny smiled and made his way downstairs, smelling sausage and eggs coming from the kitchen. He was surprised to see only Nanako sitting at the table with two plates, one of them clearly for him. "Good morning." She said happily.

His smile brightened slightly, "Good morning to you too." He replied as he sat down at the table across from her.

"Okay, let's eat!" The girl said excitedly, leading Danny to laugh a little at her enthusiasm as he picked up his own fork and joined her in eating breakfast.

He was slightly surprised at how good the eggs and sausage were, though with a little thought he realized that she probably made breakfast by herself often, seeing as how she didn't seem to be surprised at Dojima already being gone it was probably a normal thing for her. _'I can understand it...he's a detective after all, but I still don't like it.'_

"This is really good, Nanako. It's better than anything I could have made when I was your age."

The girl blushed at the praise, letting a proud smile cross her face, "Thanks! Hey, today is your first day at school, right?" She asked, significantly less shy than the night before.

At Danny's nod her smile widened even further, "My school's on the way so...let's go together!" She said happily.

Danny laughed a little at that before nodding again. "Alright, we can do that."

The beaming Nanako let out a happy laugh before turning back to her breakfast, prompting him to do the same. Once breakfast was finished they cleaned their plates before getting their bags and, when they realized it was raining, Nanako ran to grab her umbrella, leaving Danny to realize that he probably needed to buy one at one of the stores in town if he got the chance.

* * *

_**School Zone, Samegawa Flood Plain**_

Nanako had turned off the road they had been walking on a few minutes back, heading towards the elementary school, leaving Danny to finish the walk to school on his own...in the heavy rain. _'God, I need to get an umbrella as soon as I can. At least I'll be able to just phase the water off me once I get to school though, so it could be worse.'_

"Watch out!" A voice cried, tearing Danny from his thoughts as he was forced to jump out of the path of some guy trying to ride his bike and hold an umbrella at the same time. He glared at the idiot for a few seconds until he saw him crash into a pole and get thrown from the seat only to land crotch-first on the handle-bars.

Danny winced at the sight as he passed, wondering if he should help him but ultimately deciding that given the obvious pain he was in it would probably be best to leave the guy alone. He continued on his way to school, letting the water on him phase off after stepping through the door, he went in search of the faculty office and was thankful that, while there were quite a few differences between the US and Japan, it was relatively easy to find.

Danny nervously approached the attendant's desk, trying to ignore the hunched over buck-toothed man complaining loudly to another teacher across the room, "Err...hi, I'm Danny Fenton, my Uncle Dojima said he talked to you about me transferring here?"

The attendant looked at him with a small amount of surprise before smiling, "Of course, let's take a look at where you're supposed to be..." She said, pulling up a list of classes on the computer though when she finally found his name her face fell slightly, "Ah...well here's your schedule, it appears that you're in Mr. Morooka's home room." She told him with a sympathetic look on her face as she gave him his schedule, the buck-toothed man turning at the sound of his name.

"What!? What's going on here?" The man asked loudly, glaring at Danny as he walked over to the desk.

The attendant let out a small sigh, "Mr. Morooka, this is Daniel Fenton, our American transfer student." The lady explained patiently, "It seems he's been placed in your home room class."

The teacher's eyes narrowed slightly at the news, though he nodded his head, "Alright then, let's go!" He announced loudly before turning and leading the way out the door, leaving Danny staring wide-eyed after him for a few seconds. He blinked in surprise and looked at the attendant for a moment, noting the lack of a smile on her face, before coming back to his senses and following after his new teacher. The two of them made their way to the second floor, Mr. Morooka shouting at any students he saw as they went through the halls until they came to the door to the class room.

As the teacher opened the door both of them were assaulted by the noise from within, all of the students talking to each other uncaring of how loud they were becoming as the two of them made their way to the front of the class room. The room suddenly became quiet as Morooka began speaking loudly, though if he was honest Danny ignored most of it in favor of scanning the room, looking at his new classmates. _'They really don't seem much different from everybody at Casper High...'_ Danny thought, though he was finally forced to pay attention to the teacher when he heard him start talking about him.

"Now, I hate wasting my time, but I'd better introduce this transfer student." Morooka started, his voice just as angry as ever, "This sad sack's been thrown all the way from America out to the middle of nowhere like yesterday's garbage. And he's just as much of a loser here as he was there, if not more! So you girls had better not get any ideas about hitting on him! Tell 'em your name, kid, and make it quick."

Danny's eyes glowed bright green for a second before he turned away from the class to look at the teacher, hoping none of them had seen it, "My name is Danny Fenton, but more importantly, are you calling me a loser?" He asked dangerously, not paying attention to the intake of breath from the entire class, instead focusing clearly on the man in front of him.

Mr. Morooka stared at him with wide eyes, shocked into silence for a moment. Just as the teacher was about to reply he heard one of the students speak up, "Uhh, Mr. Morooka, since all the other seats are taken the new student can sit here!" He heard a girl say loudly, drawing their attention away from the moment.

"Huh? Uhh...sure, go sit down!" Morooka said roughly, clearly dissatisfied that he was interrupted but his chance to do it had passed, and Danny smirked as he walked towards the girl in the green jacket who'd spoke up. The teacher glared at him for a few more seconds before turning away and starting his lecture.

* * *

"That's all for today. Normal lectures will begin tomorrow."

Danny was already half-way to the door of the classroom when the intercom crackled to life and dashed his hopes of getting away easily, _**"Attention all teachers. Please report immediately to the faculty office for a brief staff meeting. All students must return to their classrooms and are not to leave until told otherwise."**_

The half-ghost let out a frustrated sigh at the announcement, making his way to the back of the room to lean against the wall while Morooka shouted at them to stay in the room before leaving for the meeting. Danny was contemplating whether or not he'd be able to turn invisible and phase out of the classroom without being noticed when he realized that he was being watched by a good portion of the class, including the girl that had sat next to him, however before he could think much about it the intercom crackled to life again, _**"Attention all students. There has been an incident inside the school district. Police officers have been dispatched around the school zone. Please stay calm and contact your parents or guardians as soon as possible, and quickly leave the school grounds. Do not disturb the police officers, head directly home."**_

As soon as the intercom clicked off the classroom erupted into a jumble of curious conversations, likely about whatever the 'incident' was. Danny shook his head at the gossip and pushed himself off the wall, however before he could start towards the door again the girl in the green jacket made a bee-line to him, practically dragging her friend in the red sweater with her.

"Hey, are you walking home by yourself? Why don't you come with us?" She asked quickly, though before he even had the chance to answer she started speaking again, "Oh, I almost forgot! My name is Chie Satonaka, I sit right next to you, remember?"

Danny blinked at her in surprise for a moment before nodding slowly, "I-uh...yes?" He answered hesitantly, unsure how he could have possibly missed the fact that she sat right next to him.

Her smile widened a little, apparently amused by his confusion, "Well, it's nice to meet you. This is Yukiko Amagi." She finished, nodding to the black haired girl next to her.

The girl's eyes widened at her name and she looked at him as if she hadn't been paying much attention, "Oh, nice to meet you...I'm sorry that this is so sudden..." She muttered politely, apparently slightly embarrassed.

The half-ghost cocked his head to the side slightly, his confusion only growing at the apology, "C'mon, don't apologize like that. It makes me look like I got no upbringing...I just wanted to ask some stuff, honest!" Chie said with a slightly playful grin.

Danny opened his mouth to reply but spun around quickly as he heard quiet footsteps, like somebody was trying not to be noticed, from behind him. He had to force himself not to raise his fist when he saw the guy who had crashed his bike that morning coming up on them, fear and apprehension clear on his face. _'Why would he be afraid? It's not like I've done anything aggressive...err, well I guess the way I talked to Morooka this morning was kind of, but still...'_

His silent question was answered as the boy began talking, "Uh...Satonaka-san? T-This was really awesome. Like, the way they moved was just amazing to see..." He stuttered, trailing off slightly before bowing down quickly and informally holding out a DVD case in front of him, confusing Danny further, "And...I'm really sorry! It was an accident! Please just have mercy until my next paycheck!"

Chie carefully took the case from his hands, prompting the guy to immediately turn tale and try to run away, "See ya, thanks!"

"Hey! Stop right there, what did you do to my DVD?" She shouted, chasing after him and tackling him, kneeing him in the groin in the process.

Danny winced in sympathy for the student, and then for his ears, as Chie opened the case and let out a high pitch scream, shock and anger filling her face, "It's completely cracked!"

"I-I think mine's cracked too. C-Critical hit to the nads..." The guy managed to squeak out as he slumped to his knees.

Yukiko's face filled with sympathy, much like Danny's, as she looked at the student, "A-Are you okay?" She asked quietly, obviously concerned, though all she received in response was a pained groan.

"He's fine, Yukiko, let's go!" Chie growled, obviously furious about the disc.

Danny lagged behind the two girls as they walked away, looking down at the poor guy before shaking his head sympathetically and jogging to catch up to the girls. _'Probably best to just leave him alone...'_

When he finally caught up to them Chie and Yukiko were waiting at the gate in front of the school, the brunette waved at him with a smile and the three of them started to make their way down the road, only to be interrupted as an older student with a completely different uniform rounded the corner and walked straight up to Yukiko, ignoring the others in the group, "H-Hey, you're Yuki, right? Do you want to hang out somewhere?" The boy asked in a monotone as he stared at her.

Danny couldn't help the step back he took from the student, the guy made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up though he wasn't sensing an danger from him...at least not towards him anyways. _'Towards Yukiko is an entirely different story...this guy just screams creepy sex predator.'_

Apparently Yukiko agreed with his assessment because she looked slightly afraid of him, "What? Wh- Who are you?" She asked timidly, taking a step back from him.

He could hear whispers as a crowd gathered, watching the scene unfold and gossiping, though Danny immediately shut them out, turning his attention back to the situation, where it appeared the man hadn't noticed them at all.

"Um, s-so are you going or not?" He demanded impatiently.

Yukiko shook her head quickly, "I-I'm not going..." She managed to stutter out quietly, not that he could blame her, the guy was ridiculously creepy, hell he even rivaled several of the ghosts he'd fought.

The strange student cut her off angrily, the first time any emotion entered his voice though his stare was unaffected, "Fine!" He shouted, running away.

Danny shook his head as he watched the guy leave before turning to Yukiko, "Did you know that guy?"

She shook her head, "N-No, I've never seen him before." She replied, still shaken by the encounter.

Chie crossed her arms over her chest, "Well either way he sure was creepy. Especially how he just walked up and called you Yuki!" The girl shivered slightly before, turning to Danny with a small smile, "Still, he should have known better than to ask Yukiko out like that! She's got kind of a reputation for shooting guys down." She explained as the student from earlier walked his bike towards them.

Yukiko shook her head in protest, "No I don't!"

"Haha, did another one strike out then? I remember in first year you got me too, Yukiko." The guy with the bike said, jokingly.

"I...don't recall doing that." The raven-haired girl responded, skeptically.

"R-really? Well, do you think you'd like to go out sometime then?" He asked excitedly.

"I don't think so..." She replied quietly, shaking her head slowly.

The guy sighed in disappointment as he mounted his bike, "That'll teach me to get my hopes up..." He muttered, before pushing off shouting back to the girls not to pick on Danny too much.

"What?! We're just curious, we're just going to ask him some questions!" Chie shouted after him, before realizing the scene she was making, "Uh...let's just go guys."

Danny rolled his eyes in response but followed her lead anyways, rather than deal with the growing crowd. The three of them made a bit of small talk as they walked along the flood plain until the girls began asking him questions about his transfer, or more accurately Chie started asking while Yukiko just listened quietly.

"So why _did_ you come all the way over here from the United States?"

Danny blinked at her abrupt question, "I...uh, I'd rather not talk about it." He started to say, though the disappointed look on the girls' faces brought forth a small sigh from him and he shook his head, "Well...I guess it wouldn't hurt. Can't make things any worse, at least." He finished, muttering the last part to himself.

"I guess my uncle's dad married my grandma when I was little and brought her back here." He started, trying to figure out how to phrase the excuse they were using so that it didn't sound so damned depressing, "And well...my parents got a call recently, they didn't tell me much about it, but they said that they had some important business they needed to take care of and that I had to stay with my uncle for the next two years." He said, trailing off slightly before letting out another sigh, "So here I am in Japan, waiting to finish out school and get a degree here rather than at home, because they have more important things to do, I guess."

'_Wow, you don't sound bitter at all, do you?'_

Chie's eyebrows raised in surprise as she took in his story, "Wow...well I'm sorry to hear that, I mean who would want to be stuck out here? But I mean, at least it's not more serious, right?" She asked, optimistically, before going off on a tangent about the area's steaks and the Amagi Inn, ran by Yukiko's family.

'_Well, I guess that explains why she's so polite...it's probably been pounded into her head since she was a kid.'_

"So...you think Yukiko's cute, huh?" Chie suddenly spouted off, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Danny blinked in surprise at the sudden shift in the conversation, before cautiously turning his gaze on Yukiko who blushed lightly as she realized he was checking her out, "Uh...well, I guess that she looks nice. Why do you ask?" He replied carefully, much to Chie's amusement.

The conversation continued humorously for several minutes as Chie teased Yukiko, much to the latter girl's embarrassment, unfortunately the conversation was ended abruptly as Danny noticed police tape blocking off one of the paths on the road ahead. _'Guess we've found the 'incident' the school was talking about.'_ He thought wryly as they started passing the scene, the half-ghost purposefully trying to ignore most of the conversations.

Unfortunately he wasn't able to tune out the gossip of one of the ladies on the corner, "Well I think it's horrible, to think a dead body showed up here!"

The group froze in shock as Danny's head whipped towards the scene, his attention suddenly caught despite his better instincts tell him to just ignore it and continue on home. The three of them took a few cautious steps towards the scene before grinding back to a surprised halt as a man wearing a blue suit came running from behind the tape, barely making it to the trash can across the street before emptying his stomach's contents. Danny cringed at the sound and looked away in an attempt to ignore it, he was thankful for the distraction when a voice he recognized suddenly shouted at the man.

"Adachi! How long are you going to act like a rookie?! Do you want to be sent back to the Central Office?" Dojima shouted as he marched away from the scene angrily.

"Nngh, sorry..." The man managed to get out before heaving again.

The detective sighed and shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers, "Ugh, just go get yourself cleaned up. When you get back we're going around to gather information!" He told him, frustration clear on his face until he looked up and saw Danny and the girls. He walked towards them slowly, clearly unhappy to see them there, "What are you doing here?"

Danny shrugged, "We were just passing by." He replied truthfully.

Dojima let out an annoyed sigh at the answer, "Huh, should have figured that would happen. Damned principle, we told him not to let them through here." He muttered quietly to himself.

Chie looked between the two of them curiously before finally asking the question clear on her face, "You know this guy?"

Danny nodded silently, while Dojima realized he wasn't alone and began to explain, "I'm Detective Dojima, his guardian. Uhh...how should I say this? I...hope you get along with him, but you three really aught to stop wandering around and head straight home."

The three students nodded and, sensing their dismissal, started walking past the scene again, the girls talking quietly about the incident for a few minutes before Chie turned to Danny, "Uhh, do you mind if we do Junes another day? I think we should probably just head home."

Danny nodded understandingly, "Yeah...I should probably do the same."

"Alright...we'll see you tomorrow!" Chie replied quickly, before turning and walking with Yukiko down the street that intersected the one they were on.

When Danny got home he found that Nanako was already there watching TV. He waved to her when he came in and took his bag up to his room before joining her on the couch to watch her show with her, ending up staying there for a few hours until the news came on. Unfortunately all that was being reported on was the incident with the dead body, he learned that the victim was found hanging from a TV antenna and that the she was apparently the TV announcer, Mayumi Yamano, that had been featured on the news for having an affair with the city councilman.

While Nanako had seemed initially surprised that Dojima was working the case she calmed down quickly, saying that she was just surprised to hear about him on the TV. The program continued on for a few minutes, mostly talking about how the police didn't have many leads or evidence yet.

Danny shook his head in annoyance as the report ended, though his mood was quickly replaced by amusement as a Junes commercial came on and Nanako mimicked the jingle again. "Every day's great at your Junes!~"

The half-ghost laughed a little as he sang along with her, making her eyes widen in shock, "You know it already?!" She asked, incredulously.

He shrugged, "Sure, but I bet my singing isn't as good as yours is." He replied with a smile, to which the little girl blushed happily and sang again, before they both headed upstairs to get ready for bed. Danny's mind wandered back to the report again once his cousin had left him alone.

'_I've been in town for two days and already there's been a murder...I'd like to believe that it's just a coincidence and that I don't have to worry about it but...Well, it's not important right now I guess. I just need to concentrate on dealing with school, and do my best to keep my nose clean, even if I know something bad will happen...why else would Clockwork send me here?'_ Danny shook his head with a sigh at the thought before discarding the thought and making his way to the shower and then to bed.

* * *

The next morning before leaving the house was much the same as the day before, though Danny had opted to wake up in time to make breakfast for Nanako today, and within an hour of waking up the two of them were on their ways to school, sans the rain. Danny was most of the way to school when he was forced, for the second day in a row, to jump out of the way of the student on his bike as he sped by only to crash into a bunch of trash cans on the sidewalk.

The half-ghost shook his head in disbelief as he watched the boy desperately try to pull one of the cans off himself, after a few moments of watching in a sort of detached amusement, he reluctantly made his way over and pulled the container off the student in one quick movement. The brown-haired guy blinked up at him in surprise before smiling happily.

"Oh, thanks man, I appreciate it!" He said, a grateful grin on his face, before remembering his bike and groaning as he turned to see the cycle looking a bit worse for wear, "Aww, man...this thing is falling apart, I can't wait until I save up enough money for my motorcycle."

Danny raised eyebrow at his classmate's apparently fluid priorities, "No problem, are you alright aside from your bike?"

The student jumped at his voice, spinning around to face him again, "Uh, yeah, I'm fine. Thanks again..." He trailed off with an embarrassed smile.

"Like I said, it's no problem...you might want to get your bike fixed before trying to ride it again though. Or walk...walking sounds like a good idea." Danny said in a slightly amused tone.

His classmate laughed a little as he picked up his bike and started walking it on the road, Danny following after him, "Hehe, yeah...I guess I kind of deserve that after almost running you over twice. I probably will be walking after this though, I don't want to spend money fixing it that I could put towards my real bike."

"Do you actually have your license?" He asked, skeptically.

"Well...no. But I'll get it soon enough!"

There was a short silence as Danny just smirked at his classmate before shaking his head, "If you say so."

"I will!" He shot back looking deeply insulted for a second, before breaking into a grin, "Eventually...anyways my name is Yosuke Hanamura. If you're not busy after school we should hang out or something, I owe you for helping me out."

Danny smiled, shaking his hand as it was offered to him, "Danny Fenton, obviously...and like I said it was no problem, all I done was pick up the trash can."

Yosuke shrugged, "Still..." He started, glancing at his watch offhandedly before his eyes widened, "Oh crap! If we don't hurry up we're going to be late. If you want you can hop on and I'll give you a ride there." He finished hurriedly mounting his bike.

"Uhh, I think I'll take my chances on foot. Thanks though." Danny replied, eyeing the bike nervously.

'_I don't trust that thing not to fall apart with him on it, let alone two people. Besides once he leaves I'll just hop into one of these alleys and transform, it's been too long since I've flown anyways.'_

"If you say so, I'll see you later then." He shouted over his shoulder as he sped off.

Danny waited a couple minutes after his classmate had left before glancing around carefully and ducking into the next alley and going ghost. In truth it wasn't that much further to the school, but that didn't mean it wasn't worth it. He'd felt a lot of nervous tension building up inside over the last week and hadn't been able to relieve any of it since getting to Japan, flying wasn't as good as venting his frustrations by beating the crap out of a ghost but it would do.

'_I'm going to have to figure something out to help with that soon. Maybe I should join a sports club, even as much as I usually hate sports it's better than nothing. Then again maybe whatever Clockwork sent me over here to do will happen and I'll be able to take it out on that.'_ The half-ghost sighed and shook his head at the thought, realizing how it would probably sound if he'd said it out loud, _'There you go again, Phantom...you should know by now not to tempt fate like that.'_

* * *

School that day was decidedly uneventful, aside from being unable to get over the fact that his history teacher thought it was a great fashion statement to cosplay as an ancient Egyptian, and Danny found himself waiting for the dismissal bell with his homeroom classmates much quicker than he'd expected to. _'Aside from the teachers being absolutely insane I think I could probably get used to this school. At least I don't have to deal with trying to come up with excuses to get out of class and hunt down escaped ghosts.'_ He thought while he leaned back in his chair, a small frown developing on his face as he looked around the room lazily, _'Well...maybe I will if everybody and their mother ever decides to stop staring at me. As loud as Chie and Yosuke are, at least they've actually bothered talking to me rather than just gawking like I'm some animal on display at the zoo.'_

Danny took in a deep breath and tried to calm himself down as he felt his mood darkening. Just because he wasn't particularly interested in making friends that he would eventually have to abandon didn't mean he wanted them to be uncomfortable around him either. Which was why when Yosuke had asked him again at lunch if he wanted to hang out after school, he'd eventually relented, deciding that it probably wouldn't hurt to spend some time with his classmates. It wasn't as if his enemies were around to see him hanging out with them and put them in danger, nor was he likely to establish any deep bond with them just by spending time with them after school.

The half-ghost jumped in surprise as the bell sounded off, having lost more time in thought than he'd realized, and wasn't terribly surprised when Yosuke made his way towards him with a smile, "Hey, Danny, you ready to go? I figured we could probably go and get something to eat before I show you around Junes, if you'd like. I know a place that serves really good steak."

Danny looked at the student, slightly surprised, "Did you skip lunch or something?"

Yosuke laughed a little but before he could answer Chie butted herself into the conversation, apparently having overheard them talking, "What? What about me, huh? No apologies? How about my _'Trial of the Dragon'_, You know, the one you broke?" She interrupted loudly.

"Urgh, you always come around when I talk about food, it never fails."

Chie crossed her arms over her chest defiantly, "You owe me for breaking my disk, Hanamura! I'm coming with you." She growled, before looking to Yukiko questioningly, "What about Yukiko? Do you want to get some steak?"

The quiet girl looked up at her friend, slightly surprised for a moment before looking down a little, shaking her head, "No, thanks, I don't need any more wight." She explained quietly, prompting Danny to look at her in confusion before she continued while shoving her books into her bag and standing up, "Besides, I have to help out at the Inn today."

Chie looked at her with a little disappointment before shrugging and her smile was back, "Okay, maybe next time then. So, are you guys ready to go? I can't wait for steak!"

Yosuke let out a frustrated sigh and shook his head, even as he stood up and grabbed his own bag, "Fine, let's get going."

Danny looked between the two of them, somewhat warily, the similarity to his previous friends' bickering putting him on edge slightly, though he managed to shove the feeling down as he followed them and forced a smile onto his face.

The three of them made a bit of small talk as they walked to Junes, at least they did once Chie and Yosuke stopped sniping at each other, and by the time they managed to get to the food court and receive their food Danny's smile had turned at least slightly more genuine than it'd been when they left the school. Despite Chie's initial discontent with getting food from Yosuke's workplace she'd eventually admitted it was alright, and they managed to enjoy each other's company, though the moment was broken slightly when Yosuke's eyes lit up in recognition when he saw a girl on the other side of the court.

"Saki-senpai? Uhh, excuse me, guys I'll be back in just a sec..." The boy said hurriedly as he pushed himself out from the table and crossed the floor.

Danny raised an eyebrow and glanced at the girl questioningly before looking at Chie, "Is she Yosuke's girlfriend or something?"

The half-ghost didn't miss the small flash of disapointment on his classmate's face before she masked it with a laugh, "Hah, he wishes! That's Saki Konishi, her family owns a liquor store in town, but she works here part time."

The pair's gossip was interrupted as their classmate pulled the girl over to the table with a smile on his face, "Saki-senpai, I'd like you to meet Danny-kun, he's just recently transfered here from America for a couple years." He explained to her happily.

The wavy-haired girl looked at Danny in a small amount of surprise for a moment before offering him a small smile, "Ah, it's nice to meet you, I'm Saki Konishi. It must be nice to talk to someone else from the city, huh? I don't see Hana-chan hanging out with the other guys much." She said in a happy tone that Danny thought sounded almost manufactured, though nobody else seemed to notice it so he ignored it and smiled back as Yosuke's soft protests.

Saki's smile turned slightly more amused at the protests as she talked over him, "He doesn't have too many friends, so I hope you two get along good. Hana-chan's a good guy, but he can get nosy sometimes. You gotta tell straight to his face when he starts to annoy you." She said with a slight smirk.

The half-ghost raised an eyebrow at the comment, he glanced at Yosuke and noticed that he looked a little like a kicked puppy after her comment and he shook his head as he turned back to her, "Nah, I think he's a pretty good guy." He replied with a smile, though his eyes were significantly harder, as if asking daring her to dispute the opinion.

He watched her blink quickly in surprise before pasting a smile on her face and laughing, "Oh, I know that! I'm just joking, I'm just saying he's a little bit like a younger brother to me." She back-pedaled with a smile, before her smile dropped slightly as she glanced at her watch, "Well, I think I need to get back to work, my break's just about over."

Danny nodded and watched as Yosuke waved at her as she left the table, feeling a little bad for the guy as he tried to laugh her comments off, even as Chie teased him lightheartedly, before turning the conversation to a bit of gossip she'd heard about an urban legend. The half-ghost almost decided to ignore it in favor eating but was pulled into it despite his efforts when she insisted on explaining it.

"Have you guys ever heard of the midnight channel? You're supposed to look into a TV that's switched off, alone, exactly at midnight on a rainy night. While you're staring at yourself, another person will come on the screen...and they say that person is your soulmate."

He rolled his eyes as Yosuke voiced his thoughts on the matter, "What? For a second, I thought you were actually going to say something useful. How can you get excited over such a childish urban legend like that?"

"Childish, huh? You don't believe it do you!?"

"Of course I don't, it's ridiculous!"

Chie looked almost insulted at his statement, "How would you know if you haven't even tried it!"

"Alright then, who did you see?" Danny asked, crossing his arms as he leaned back in his seat and looked at her somewhat amused to see her stumbling over herself at the question.

"W-what? I...well, I haven't actually tried it yet..."

"Seriously? You haven't even done it yourself and you're getting on to us for saying it's a hoax?" Yosuke asked incredulously.

Chie looked slightly uncomfortable for a second before staring defiantly at him, "I said I haven't done it _yet_, not that I wouldn't do it! It's going to rain tonight, let's all look at it and we can talk about it tomorrow at school."

Danny couldn't help the small laugh that escaped him, before he grinned at her slightly hurt look, "You really want to do this, don't you?"

"...Yes."

Yosuke rolled his eyes at her insistence before sighing, "Fine, I guess I'll do it. Not sure why, I mean it's not like we're going to see anything..."

"Then I guess that means there's nothing to lose." Danny replied with a small shrug before smiling at Chie, "I might as well join in too, I've got to unpack tonight so I'll be up late anyways."

Chie's excited grin was more than a little amusing to him as she nodded while Yosuke just shook his head in disbelief, "Anyways, you guys heard about that 'incident' yesterday, right? Well, I think it could have been murder - Danny and I talked about it a little bit at lunch but...Oh man! What if the culprit was still lurking around?!" The boy said, letting out a decidedly hammy evil laugh.

Chie shot Yosuke a glare while Danny shook his head with a small sigh, interrupting Chie as she opened her mouth to yell at their classmate, "Look, man, I know you're just joking around, but this seriously isn't something to make fun of, alright?"

Both brunettes stared at the half-ghost with a slightly surprised look before Chie blinked and nodded her head assertively, "Yeah, what he said, Yosuke!" She leaned forward, a small frown etched on her face, "Anyways, you two had better do it tonight..."

"Wh-why are you only glaring at me? We already said we'd do it, geez. Just drop it already..." The boy muttered, turning his attention back to his food. A few minutes passed and the argument was forgotten as the group changed the subject and finished their steaks.

* * *

Danny looked, somewhat worriedly at Nanako across the table from him. He'd only eaten a little of his Sushi, having not been particularly hungry after hanging out with Yosuke and Chie that afternoon, but he hadn't expected that to cause the awkward silence from the first night to return.

_Then again, maybe that's not it..._ He glanced at the empty cushion between the two of them before looking back to Nanako as she poked her food with her chopsticks, _Dojima still isn't home...she says it doesn't bother her but obviously she's not happy at having so little contact with her dad._

The half-ghost opened his mouth to ask her if she was okay, but was interrupted as the front door opened, causing his cousin to jump to her feet excitedly, "Oh! He's home! Da...Dad?"

Danny turned, not surprised when he saw that Dojima looked almost dead on his feet. The older man sighed tiredly as he made his way to the couch and collapsed onto it heavily.

"...Uncle Dojima? Are you alright?"

The detective winced slightly as he leaned back on the couch before giving Danny and Nanako a tired smile, "Hey...I'm back. Did anything happen while I was out?"

"No..." Nanako shook her head, pouting slightly, "You're late again!"

"I know, I know...I'm sorry. There was a- well, work was busy today. Would you mind turning the news on for me?"

Nanako opened her mouth to argue, but seemed to think better of it and sighed and plopped back down onto her cushion and silently changed the channel before turning her attention back to dinner.

_I feel a little sorry for her. I understand Dojima is busy but it isn't easy when your parents don't seem to have time for you..._ Danny looked at Nanako sadly for a moment before turning to watch the news. They were talking about the murder case again and he was about to ignore them in favor of putting what was left of his dinner away only to be caught up by the report as they announced a special interview.

Dojima sighed in frustration, "An interview with the kid? Where the hell did they find her?"

Danny glanced at his uncle before looking back to the report, surprised as he saw a poorly blurred out image of Saki Konishi, _"What went through your mind when you saw it? Could you tell she was dead? Did you see her face?"_

"_U-umm..."_ They'd at least done a better job of garbling her voice.

"_Don't you think it was scary that someone was killed on a foggy day?"_

'_What, you mean as opposed to somebody being killed on a sunny day?'_ The half-ghost thought, shaking his head at the reporter's obvious excitement.

"_Huh...? She was killed?!"_

The interview continued for a few more minutes, Danny becoming more and more annoyed at the demonstration of stupidity from the reporter, particularly when they made a point to mention the police's supposed incompetence in the case so far.

'_Sure, it's easy to criticize somebody else for how they do their job when all you're doing is sitting on the sidelines...'_ The half-ghost thought bitterly, trying to ignore the pang of anger that he felt swelling up inside him at the reporter's antics, and how much they reminded him of the general public's view of him in Amity Park.

By the time he'd pulled himself out of his darker thoughts the report had cut to commercial and he heard Nanako gasp in excitement as the Junes commercial flashed onto the screen again, "Every day's great at your Junes! Hey Dad...can we go to Junes together sometime?" She asked excitedly, only for her face to fall when she was answered with silence. "...No?"

Danny looked to Dojima in surprise, having not expected Nanako's father to ignore her and was relieved, if you could call it that, to see that the detective had merely fallen asleep. _'Not really much better but...he's got a difficult job, I can only imagine the crap he has to deal with. At least when I was playing hero I didn't have to deal with assholes after the fact unless I really wanted to. I could always get away easily enough.'_

There was a heavy silence as the two of them cleaned up the table and what was left of their dinners, most of Danny's going in the fridge, before Nanako sighed and made her way over to the sofa, "Hey, do you need any help Nanako?"

"No...I'm okay, I'm used to it." The girl said quietly, grabbing a blanket and tucking it around her father before turning out the light and heading towards the stairs along with her cousin.

Danny nodded slowly, "Alright then. I...well if you need any help, just say so, I'm going to finish unpacking my stuff tonight, so I'll be up for a while."

Nanako nodded tiredly, seeming to almost not hear him. "Okay...good night."

* * *

Danny huffed tiredly as he collapsed to the couch, glancing around his room with a small smile as he glanced around his room somewhat fondly, despite the only things really differentiating it from how it was before being his laptop on the coffee table, several model spaceships that he'd brought with him one of which had sadly ended up with a broken wing, and his previously bare bookshelf now filled with the only other possessions he'd brought with him aside from the laptop and models.

While he had once denounced reading as a waste of time he had quickly picked it up as a pastime when he'd turned into a solo act, and while many of his books were along the lines of Louis L'amour and Simon Green's novels a few modern-fantasy and murder mysteries had found their way into his collection, and that didn't even include the psychology book he'd managed to get about half-way through after Jazz bought it for him last year.

The half-ghost glanced at the clock absently and done a double-take as he saw it was already almost midnight. Danny pushed himself up off the couch and pulled the curtain in front of his window back slightly, despite the fact that he could already hear the rain pounding against the roof. He let the curtain drop back against the wall and walked over to where the small TV that Dojima had provided sat on his dresser.

He stared into the set for a few seconds, before shaking his head, feeling more than a little stupid, _'God, I could be trying to sleep right now instead of dealing with this if I hadn't encouraged her. I mean sure, I've seen some weird things these last couple years but falling for an urban legend? You're better than that Pha-'_

Danny jumped as his TV crackled to life, static dancing across the screen before slowly forming a slightly blurred image of a brunette girl silently thrashing around in pain. The half-ghost felt a terrible sense of foreboding creep into his mind as he stared at the screen for several moments, before an intense pain flared to life in his head, forcing him to clutch at it as he stumbled backwards.

"_I am thou..."_ A voice echoed in his head calmly, though it felt indescribably powerful to him, _"...and thou art I..."_

"W-who are you? WHERE are you?" Danny hissed through the pain, clutching his his head even tighter in an attempt to force the pain away. He felt himself stumble backwards, his knee cracking into a corner of his coffee table, however even as he dropped to the floor all he could feel was the invasion of his mind. "Cl-Clockwork?! Oh god, what's happening?"

"_Thou art the one who opens the door..."_

"Door? What? Ju-just make it stop!" Danny groaned, somewhat pathetically, however at the moment he couldn't care less about how he might appear to anybody else, he just knew that if this went on much longer his head was going to split open.

The half-ghost continued to thrash on the floor for several moments before the pain finally stopped, leaving him lying in an almost fetal position as he gasped for air. Danny wasn't sure how much time had passed when a lightning flashed outside his window and the thunder finally brought him back to his senses, but when he looked back up at the TV he found the screen black again, as if the whole event had merely been a figment of his imagination.

His eyes never left the screen as Danny finally began to push himself back up to his feet, stumbling disoriented once or twice. _'What the fuck was that? I...god I want to say that didn't happen but I sure feel like it happened...'_ He thought, shaking his head slightly as he reached out to touch the surface of the screen, in an effort to ensure himself that what had happened wasn't just an extremely vivid nightmare.

Danny gasped in shock when his touch sent white ripples across the surface of the screen, as if it was some kind of liquid. He slowly, carefully touched the screen again, marveling as new ripples formed from his touch, and found that it had almost no resistance to it as he pushed his hand through it. _'What the hell? This...this isn't right, my hand isn't intangible right now, and I don't feel anything like the inside of a TV in here so...'_ His eyes widened as he suddenly felt a tug on his hand, pulling both his head and the rest of his arm in up to his shoulder, where his momentum died as the rest of his body failed to fit through the frame.

The half-ghost's free arm flailed about before finally finding purchase on one of the corners of the TV, he pushed away from the TV as hard as he could, unwilling to turn intangible in case he accidently got himself sucked in further. As soon as he pushed he felt the suction stop and he flew backwards out of the TV, he stumbled when he felt his feet connect with the floor again and fell on his ass, the back of his head connecting with the table creating a loud crack throughout his room.

Danny blinked the stars away from his vision, groaning as he felt the familiar pain of being thrown against something in the back of his head. Before he'd managed to completely regain coherence he heard a knock on his door, "Are you okay?" Nanako asked tiredly, her voice muffled by the door.

The half-ghost nodded quietly for a moment, before realizing how stupid that was and speaking up, "Y-yeah...I'm fine."

"I heard a crash..." The little girl asked, her voice sounding concerned, "Did you hurt yourself?"

"N-no...I just tripped over something. I'm sorry if I woke you up, Nanako..." He muttered, distractedly, still unable to tear his thoughts away from what he'd just witnessed.

"Oh...okay. Goodnight..."

"'Night..."

As Nanako's footsteps slowly faded away down the hall Danny stood up, still rubbing the back of his head as he stared at the blank screen, still confused and, if he was honest with himself, slightly frightened by the possibilities of what this could mean. _'Does this have anything to do with what Clockwork sent me here for? He didn't tell my anything about it but...god I hate this. Should I even bother to tell those two what I saw tonight? I don't think it's related to anything ghostly but who knows? Besides, I said I was going to try and avoid building relationships with the people here...'_ He thought, as he slowly made his way to his futon, stripping his clothes off along the way.

'_I...guess, I'll talk to them a little bit. They're going to want to talk to me anyways, so I don't think I can get out of that. But what about after that? If they saw the same thing I did then I maybe I shouldn't shut them out completely...I don't want to let them get too involved, but they might be able to help a little bit.'_

The half-ghost shook his head, shrugging as he finally laid down and pulled the covers up to his chest, "Just...wait and see, I guess." He muttered to himself, as he closed his eyes and drifted off into what he hoped would be a dreamless sleep.


	4. Contractual Obligations

Well, here we are with the fourth chapter. I'm sorry it took a little longer than I expected to get it out to you, but here it is. I didn't get to the point in the story I meant to in this chapter, and I'm not sure that I'm completely happy with it, but I'm going to post it now because very soon I'll be busy for about a month. I'm going to try to push out one more chapter before I leave, but I've got a weekend and one day to do so...so obviously no promises on that front.

All that said, from here on out all chapters will be betaed, with the possible exception of the next one if I push it out fast enough. Still, if anybody is interested in being an additional beta, I'd be happy to accept you. At any rate, please enjoy the chapter, and if I'm not able to finish the next one before I leave then I'll try to get it out within a week of getting back. No promises though.

**Contractual Obligations**

The next day of school felt like it would never end. From the time Danny woke up in the morning he couldn't help but feel on edge about what he'd experienced the night before. Even for someone who dealt with paranormal beings and events on a regular basis that had been...unnerving. Regardless, when he walked into the classroom that morning he glanced at his new acquaintances, for lack of a better term, both of which looked decidedly shaken up.

'_Well, I suppose that if I was looking for a sign that they saw something strange last night this is like them holding flashing arrows over their heads.'_ He mused, as he sat down next to Chie, "The three of us need to talk after school." He muttered quietly to her, receiving a quick nod from both in response.

From that point forward the day drug on as Danny found himself being called on at least once in each class to answer the various teacher's questions, though he was thankful that he was able to answer each of them correctly, much to the chagrin of Mr. Morooka. Finally, after dealing with the hunch-backed teacher for an absolutely cruel amount of time, the last bell sounded and they were dismissed by their home room teacher and while Danny was packing his bag he saw Yosuke stop in front of him, shuffling from foot to foot nervously.

"Y-yo. Umm...its, uh, it's really not that important, but...well, yesterday, on the TV, I..." The brunette stuttered, suddenly becoming much quieter when he saw Chie approaching them excitedly, "Oh...uh, never mind. I'll tell you later." He finished, laughing somewhat nervously.

Chie didn't seem to catch Yosuke's nervousness as she leaned up against her desk, "Yosuke, did you hear the rumor? Saki-senpai's supposedly the one that discovered that body!"

The boy grimaced and nodded, "Yeah...I wonder if that's why she looked so down...She doesn't seem to be at school today either."

Yukiko barely glanced at them when she heard Chie's voice before she finished backing her bag and stood up, shrugging it onto her shoulders, drawing a disappointed glance from her friend in green, "Huh? Hey, Yukiko, are you helping out at the inn today too?"

The raven-haired girl nodded tiredly, "Things are really out of hand right now...I'm sorry." She muttered, before slowly making her way out of the class room.

Chie stared after her friend as she left, concern etched on her face, before turning back to Danny and Yosuke, "I guess they're running her pretty ragged..."

There was a slightly awkward moment of silence, before the girl seemed to realize something and brightened up significantly, "Oh, by the way, did you see...it...last night?"

Yosuke's gaze whipped to her suddenly, obviously surprised, before glancing away nervously, "Huh? I...uh, well...what about you?"

"I did! I seriously saw a girl! But...my soulmate's a girl? What's that supposed to mean? I couldn't quite tell who it was, but it was a girl for sure...her hair was brown, about shoulder length. She was wearing our school uniform and-"

"Hey… I think that's the same person I saw. I couldn't make out that much detail, though. The image I saw was much blurrier…" Yosuke suddenly said, his former nervousness quickly discarded.

"Wait, so you saw it too? And we saw the same girl...? What's that supposed to mean, do we have the same soul mate?"

Yosuke shook his head and shrugged at her question, "How am I supposed to know?" He muttered, before glancing at Danny, "What 'bout you? Did you see it too?"

Danny raised an eyebrow at their descriptions matching the girl he'd seen too, _'If they both saw the same girl then maybe they also had the other things happen to them?'_ He thought as he nodded absently, before letting out a small sigh.

"I did...it was weird. I couldn't make her out very well, but before I could really think about it too much I...err, I heard a voice in my head. I can't remember exactly what it said but it was loud...it gave me a hell of a headache." He said quietly, glancing around to make sure he wasn't overheard before continuing, "By the time the pain stopped the screen was blank again and I wasn't really sure that the entire thing had happened, so I touched the screen. It was like I was reaching through jello or something...next thing I knew something had pulled the rest of my arm and my head in, but the frame was too small and I uh...I got stuck. When I hit the frame whatever was pulling me in stopped and I managed to get out." He finished, glancing up at them. He was disappointed to see that they had confused and skeptical looks on their faces.

"Well...it sounds like all saw the same person..." Yosuke said, hesitantly, before shaking his head skeptically, "But weird voices aside, what was that about you getting sucked into your TV...? Were you seriously that out of it last night? You must've just fallen asleep in front of your TV."

Danny opened his mouth to argue, but thought better of it, and Chie continued on when she saw he wasn't going to talk, a teasing smile on her face, "That'd be one interesting dream though. I like the part where you got stuck 'cause your TV was too small. That's pretty realistic." She said, her voice dripping with mocking sarcasm. "Well, if the TV was bigger the-" She began to continue, before her eyes widened as she apparently realized something. "Oh that reminds me! Our family's been talking about getting a bigger TV."

Danny couldn't help himself as he raised a slightly incredulous eyebrow at the disjointed way the girl's mind apparently worked, while Yosuke smiled brightly at her realization. "Oh yeah? Well flat screen TVs are definitely in these days. Wanna go check 'em out on the way back? We're beefing up our electronics department this month."

"Ooh, definitely! My parents don't know anything about electronics, and I've gotta see my Kung-fu movies on the big screen!" She said excitedly, before spontaneously breaking out a kick "Hwa-taaaa!", Danny was forced to stop himself from putting her on the ground when her foot passed barely an inch away from his face.

Yosuke chuckled at her, a smile stretching across his face, "We've got some pretty big ones in stock. I bet they'd be big enough for you to fit into." He said, glancing at Danny teasingly.

The half-ghost let out a small sigh, somewhere between annoyance and relief. _'Well crap...the fact that I'm apparently hearing voices nobody else can and might be hallucinating sticking my head in a TV probably doesn't speak well for my mental health...then again I guess that's to be expected. At least those two are writing it off as a dream...of course on the flip side if they do think I'm insane then they'd probably decide to leave me be...'_ The thought made a small frown appear on his face as the trio made their way to the shopping center, _'I should be alright with that, right? I mean that's what I want, isn't it? You can't let them get too close, Phantom...you need to stop this before it gains any traction...'_

Of course that's what he should do...but for some reason he was finding it difficult to ignore the other voice at the back of his mind nagging at him, urging against it, begging him to just let himself have a normal year for once. _'No...ignore it, Phantom...letting them in will only cause more pain later, and that's that.'_

Danny nodded solemnly to himself as they reached Junes and made their way through the stores, slowing down as Yosuke began giving them a tour of the electronics section, quickly coming to the TV displays.

Chie's eyes widened in amazement as she saw the size of several of the TVs there, shaking her head in disbelief, "Wow, this is huge! And...holy crap, it's expensive! Who buys something like this?" She asked skeptically as she gazed at the price tag.

Yosuke shrugged noncommittally, "I dunno...rich folks? Honestly not many people shop for TVs here. That's why we don't have any clerks around."

"Huh...not worth trying then, I guess. At least looking's free." Chie muttered dispassionately, before shooting Yosuke a smirk, which the other brunette returned, and the two of them stepped forward, pressing their hands against the screen gently. The two of them pushed against it for a few seconds each before pulling back, Chie sighing in mock disappointment as Yosuke shook his head.

"...Nope, can't get in. Figures."

Danny rolled his eyes at the two of them, "Yeah, yeah, you two can just screw off." He muttered, somewhat darkly.

Chie laughed at his annoyance, smiling teasingly, "Haha, this proves it. It was all just a dream."

"Besides, these flat-screen TVs are so thin, you'd just end up on the other side…Argh, what am I saying!?"

The half-ghost opened his mouth angrily, about to make another retort, before thinking better of it and shaking his head silently. Yosuke looked at him expectantly for a moment before smirking and turning to the girl. "So, Chie. What kind of TVs are you guys in the market for?"

"Hmm...well, they said they wanted something that's cheap. You got any suggestions?"

The brunette nodded, plastering a salesman-like smile on his face as he led her further down the line. Danny watched them walk away for a moment, before turning his gaze back to the TV they'd been teasing him with. There was something...strange about it, it looked perfectly normal, but something just felt...off about it to him. He stared at it for a few moments before stepping towards it hesitantly.

'_What's the worst that could happen? If what I remember actually happened last night then I'll sneak out later tonight and come back...see if I can actually get into whatever's in there, I'm sure I can handle it. And if it really was just a dream then there's nothing to worry about...right?'_

Danny slowly reached out and tapped the screen, jumping slightly when he got the same rippling reaction as he did last night. His eyes widened, whether in excitement or shock he wasn't sure, and he glanced left and right quickly making sure nobody was looking, before plunging his hand fully through the screen.

'_Amazing...it's actually working. Why is this suddenly happening? I don't remember ever being able to go into a TV without using my powers before...I'll have to think about that later. Right now I need to stop messing with it before someone se-'_

The half-ghost's eyes widened alarm when he heard Chie's high voice squeaking an entire octave higher, though he couldn't tell if it was from fear or just surprise. "You've got to be kidding me...did you _really_ just stick your hand through the screen?!"

"Oh man...this is for real...that's some magic trick, man!" Yosuke said, his own eyes wide in awe, "So how's it work, huh?! What's the magician's secret?!"

Danny swallowed thickly as his eyes darted back and forth between the two of them. _'Shit...I really hadn't planned on this...but, well I guess they already know. Maybe a little revenge is in order...'_ He thought, a small smirk crossing his face as he turned back to the TV.

"I'm not sure...let me try to ask him." He said sarcastically, before leaning forward and plunging his head into the TV, leaning all the way in to his shoulders.

"H-hey, don't do that! What're you doing?!"

"Oh my god!" He heard Chie squeak, both of their voices somewhat muffled and warped, as if he was hearing them through water.

The half-ghost couldn't help chuckling to himself as he glanced around curiously, "Hmm...there's really not much in here, other than empty space a bunch of fog." He muttered, mostly to himself, though he expected the other two could hear him as well.

"Wh-What do you mean 'in here'?!"

"Wh-What do you mean 'empty space'?!"

Danny shrugged at their borderline hysterical questions as if what he was seeing was perfectly normal, which to be fair was at least somewhat true for him, "Just that it seems really spacious in here, like there'd be plenty of room to do whatever I wanted."

"Wh-what do you mean by that?!" Yosuke croaked out, at least managing not to shout it this time.

Before he could answer him Chie squeaked at him again, clearly still freaking out, "I mean, what's going on?!"

Yosuke danced around nervously, apparently more freaked out than Danny thought, "Holy crap… I-I think this is all too much for my bladder…"

Danny shook his head inside the TV, rolling his eyes, _'Oh come on, that's a bit over the top. I mean sure, this is a bit weird, but really? This is nothing compared to the Ghost Zone...or at least this area of it isn't'_

"What the- are you serious right now? You're not going to pee your pants are you?" Chie asked, obviously as unimpressed as Danny.

"I've been holding it in all day! I-I haven't had a chance to go...argh! I can't hold it any more!" The boy shouted, dancing a little more before running off to the left. He was only gone for a few seconds before Danny heard him running back.

"Shit! Customers! They're coming!"

Danny's eyes widened and he started trying to pull himself out of the TV, only to find himself genuinely stuck this time, he heard the two behind him panicking even further, "What!? But we've got a guy half stuck in a TV here! Wh-What're we gonna do!?" Chie screeched, the situation obviously stretching far beyond the boundaries of what she was comfortable with.

The half-ghost could hear his classmates behind him shuffling around in panic, he was pretty sure they were running in circles, before he suddenly felt them slam into him. His eyes widened as he felt himself fall further forward, accompanied by Yosuke and Chie, and then they were falling through the darkness. He desperately wanted to go ghost, catch his classmates, and fly out of there but there was no way he was going to risk that after everything else that was going on right now, the two of them might truly lose it if they saw that.

It felt like they were falling forever, the scenery around them slowly shifting to a contrasted mixture of a bright yellow and black, but they eventually found the bottom. Danny landed harshly on his back and, while it certainly wasn't the hardest he'd hit the ground, it wasn't exactly pleasant. The half-ghost's eyes widened as he suddenly heard his two classmates screaming as they fell and seconds later he felt Yosuke's back slam into his chest, followed quickly by Chie, both of them knocking the air out of him.

Danny coughed roughly as Chie growled at Yosuke and, ignoring their protests, quickly pushed them off his chest as he pushed himself to his feet, looking around the area quickly in an effort to ensure they weren't in any immediate danger. He could barely see five feet in front of him, the place was a veritable ocean of fog, but from what he could make out they seemed to be in the middle of an empty TV show set.

The half-ghost glanced to his left as his classmates stumbled up beside him, he looked each of them up and down quickly but couldn't see any obvious injuries, "Haa...so...uh...we're all still alive...right?" Chie huffed out nervously as her eyes darted around the fog desperately.

Danny raised an eyebrow at the question before nodding, looking back to the studio in hopes of finding some kind of clue where they were, "At least half-way there...you two okay?" He asked distractedly, his voice significantly harder than it'd been since leaving Amity Park.

Yosuke grimaced in pain as he rubbed his butt, "I think my butt's cracked..."

Danny rolled his eyes, "Of course it is!" Chie huffed in annoyance.

"Woah!"

"What is it now? You didn't wet your pants, did you?"

"No, stupid! Look around!" Yosuke retorted harshly, glaring at her.

"Yeah...it looks like a set of a TV show, maybe a studio." Danny said, turning his attention back to the two classmates he found himself with.

Chie nodded in agreement, "Yeah...but what about all this fog...or is it smoke? There's no place like this in Inaba, is there?"

"Hell no...but man, this place is huge..." Yosuke answered, shaking his head in amazement.

"What are we gonna do?" Chie asked, crossing her arms under her chest insecurely as Danny turned to look at them, shrugging.

"We need to find an exit and get home. But we're not going to do that just standing around here." He answered calmly.

Both of the brunettes nodded quickly, clearly grateful for his level head, "G-good plan! We need to get home and- uh...wait a minute which way did we come from? I don't see a way in...or out!"

Yosuke spun around, his eyes wide again, "What? T-that can't be right! H-how could that be?!"

"I don't know! Don't ask me! I can't take this anymore! I wanna go home!" Chie squeaked, panic setting into both of them again, leading Danny to let out another frustrated sigh.

"Both of you calm down. We fell in, remember? Like I said, we're not going to find our way out if we stick right around here, we need to search the area, see if we can find another way out. If we can't then we'll make our way back here and go from there." The half-ghost explained, doing his best to soothe them, though he'd be lying if he said he didn't notice the somewhat annoyed tone of his voice.

'_If it comes to that...and we can't find any clues on how to get out of here, then I guess I won't have much choice. I'll transform and we'll fly out of here, and I'll deal with whatever comes of them finding out.'_

Yosuke nodded quickly, a somewhat desperate look on his face, "Y-yeah, an exit! We need to find one!"

"Is there really a way out of here...?" Chie asked, her voice cracking.

Danny nodded, beginning to walk in an admittedly random direction in hopes of finding _something_. "Of course there is...there's always a way out, Chie. Just trust me."

"I...I guess so, but..."

"If there's no exit we're trapped, so let's just cross our fingers and try to find a way out." Yosuke reasoned, slowly following Danny's lead.

The half-ghost couldn't help but roll his eyes at the brunette's 'encouragement'_'Way to go, Yosuke...that's exactly what she needs to hear right now.'_ He thought, as they wandered further into the fog.

The trio had been exploring for half an hour when Danny noticed their surroundings slowly warping into that of a darkened city, the sky taking the appearance of red and black swirls. _'And here I was thinking that the Ghost Zone was the creepiest place I'd ever have the pleasure to visit. Glad to see myself proven wrong.'_ He mused as he looked out over the railing of the apartment complex-like building they'd found themselves at.

"Is it just me, or does this place feel...different from where we were before?" Chie asked warily, hugging her sport coat tighter to herself.

Danny nodded in understanding, "It does have a kind of...oppressive atmosphere, doesn't it?"

"It looks like we're in some kind of building, but...damn, this fog is so thick, I can barely see." Yosuke muttered, mirroring Chie and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Are you sure we aren't wandering farther away?"

"No, but if we don't check the area out we won't know for sure. Don't worry, I remember how to get back to the studio from here." The half-ghost replied confidently, stepping forward and resuming their exploration, raising an eyebrow as they found the only way forward was into one of the apartments.

Danny glanced around warily before cautiously stepping through the black and red swirling doorway, followed hesitantly by his classmates. The second he set foot on the other side and got a good look of his surroundings he almost wished he hadn't. They were standing in an apartment, just as he'd expected, but there was no exit aside from the one they'd came through, and the entire place looked foreboding. There were posters and fliers scattered across the floor and on several of the walls, accompanied by what looked an awful lot like half-dried blood splatter across several areas. The lonely noose and straight-backed chair in the middle of the room completed the cheerful atmosphere for the apartment.

"Is it just me or is the fog lighter in here?" He heard Yosuke ask, realizing once more that he wasn't alone in the room he nodded absently, still unable to ignore the terrifying decor of the apartment, even as he heard Yosuke flip his phone open, "No signal here either...go figure."

The half-ghost jumped slightly as he heard Chie stomp in behind them, turning to look at her terrified face, "Can't you guys slow down a bit? It's hard enough to see where you guys are going with all this...Huh? What the hell, it's a dead-end. There's no exit!"

The other brunette nodded shakily, "Yeah...it just keeps getting creepier the further we get in." He said, shifting in what Danny thought was nervousness before he let out a groan of frustration and ran over to a corner, "Argh! I can't hold it any longer, my bladder's going to explode!"

"Yosuke, what are you doing?!" Chie cried in shock, staring at him wide-eyed.

"I gotta let it out before I piss my pants!" The boy shouted back at her, angrily.

"Y-you're going here?! Oh you've got to be kidding..." The girl spit out, glaring at him.

"T-turn around! I can't go if everybody's watching..." Yosuke whined, prompting Danny to roll his eyes as he crossed his arms over his chest and turned around exasperatedly, though Chie didn't bother to extend him the courtesy, leaving the boy to groan again in frustration as he redone his pants, shooting a glare at the girl, "Aaargh! I can't do it...it's your fault if my bladder bursts." He muttered to her angrily.

"Like I care..." She shot back, before glancing around the room, apparently taking her surroundings in for the first time, "Anyways...what's with this room? Check out these posters...their faces are all cut out...somebody must really hate this person."

Danny let out a small sigh, nodding even as Yosuke stared at the chair and noose in the middle of the room sadly, "Dude...this chair and rope...that kind of arrangement is never good. It's a noose...is this a scarf?"

The half-ghost couldn't help but look at the two teenagers, somewhat skeptical that they hadn't noticed these things when they first came in, _'Their powers of deduction are astonishing.'_

Chie shifted uncomfortably for a few moments before slowly walking back to the doorway, "C'mon, let's go back to where we came from and look somewhere else for an exit..."

"Hey, I think I've seen this poster somewhere before." Yosuke muttered, leaning closer to it, but jumped in surprise when Chie growled at him.

"Who cares? Let's go! I'm sick of this place!" She said desperately, before calming down slightly, "And...I'm not feeling so good."

Yosuke nodded slowly, "Now that you mention it, me too..."

Danny raised an eyebrow at the two of them as they left the apartment and started to make their way back to the studio. _'I wonder if the way they're feeling is tied to wherever we are? But...if it was then why wouldn't I be feeling it too? Maybe I'm not feeling it because of my ghost half? Of course it could just be stress on them...probably that one, really.'_

The half-ghost continued thinking on their situation as they wandered back through the fog and was slightly surprised when Chie spoke up again, "Whew...we finally made it back here."

Danny blinked in surprise as he glanced around himself, realizing the girl was right, however he was disappointed to see that there still wasn't an exit to be found on ground level. He let out a small sigh, even as he glanced around one more time, _'Well...I guess it was too much to hope I wouldn't have to go gho- wait what the hell is that?'_ His thought process was torn asunder as he felt the familiar sensation of his ghost sense going off, though it was somewhat different than usual, shivering as he saw mist escape from his mouth.

"Th-there's something over there!" Yosuke stuttered out, pointing towards the shadow Danny had noticed, slowly moving towards them.

The half-ghost balled his hands into fists and stepped in front of his classmates, preparing to call forward his ghost half if he had to, though his apprehension quickly evaporated when the shape finally got close enough for him to make out. It was a blue-furred bear-like creature wearing a red and white clown suit. Danny raised an eyebrow at it as his classmates voiced his own thoughts.

"What is this thing? A monkey...? A bear...?"

"What in the world...?"

"That's what I want to know! Who are you guys...?" The bear suddenly spoke up, its voice high, somewhat squeaky, and thoroughly un-threatening.

"I-it talked!" Chie gasped, jumping backwards in surprise, before raising her fists in an unconvincing display of strength. "Uhh...w-what are you? Y-you wanna fight?!"

The creature flinched away from the girl, covering its face in fear, "D-don't yell at me like that..."

Danny let out a small sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration, before sending a small glare towards Chie as he stepped forward again, carefully watching the bear, "Hey...I'm sorry she yelled at you. She's just scared because we're lost. Can you tell us where we are so we can get home?" He asked, surprising himself with the amount of gentleness in his voice.

The bear looked back up at him, seeming slightly less afraid but still wary of them, "This place is what it is. It doesn't have a name." He said simply, pausing for a moment before finishing, "It's where I live."

"Wait...you _live_ here?" Yosuke asked in shock, looking around disbelievingly.

The creature nodded silently for a moment before looking around hurriedly, "If I was you guys I'd hurry back to the other side. Someone's been throwing people in here. It's a big headache."

Danny's eyes widened in shock, "Woah woah woah, hold it! What do you mean throwing people in? Do you know who's doing it?" He asked quickly.

"I dunno who's doing it! I just want them to think before they go doing things like that!" The bear shot back, obviously distressed by the situation.

Chie's glare returned and she stomped the ground in frustration, "Hey, what's your problem? What gives you the right to yell at us like that?" She shouted at him, her panic obviously rising again, "What _are_ you!? Where are we?! What the heck's going on here?!" She asked, somewhat hysterically.

The bear jumped back in surprise and fear again, quickly running and hiding itself behind Danny's back, much to his confusion, "I already told you..." He said, fearfully, before continuing on. "A-anyways, you should hurry back."

"Look, what it comes down to is, well you want us to get out of here, right? Well so do we! We just don't know how!" Yosuke replied with a frustrated sigh.

"Urgh! That's what I keep telling you! I'll let you out!"

"Like I keep saying, bear, we don't know where the freakin' exi- wait...what?" The brunette fell short, staring at the creature in confusion.

Danny raised an eyebrow as the bear slowly crept out from behind him, taking care to avoid Chie, and made his way to the center of the studio floor before doing a strange rhythmic tap with his foot. The trio stared at him in confusion for a moment until, a few seconds later, a stack of three TVs fell from above them, landing roughly next to the bear.

Yosuke's eyes widened in shock as he stared at the TVs, "W-what the hell?"

"Wh-where did those TVs come from?" Chie asked, still clearly upset though it seemed she was slowly coming back down again as she and Yosuke followed Danny to stand right next to the stack while the bear fidgeted impatiently.

"Okay, now go, go and get outta here! I'm a busy bear!"

Before Danny could even consider exactly how they were supposed to get out the bear came around behind them and shoved them towards the tower, not listening to either of his classmates' protests. As one final push came from behind his head plunged into the bottom TV and he felt, rather than saw, the world warp again as he fell through nothingness all over again, only to be spit out with Chie and Yosuke on the familiar floor of Junes' electronics center.

Yosuke's head whipped around in amazement and obvious relief, "D-did we make it back?" The brunette asked, as an advertisement for a sale went off over the intercom, "Crap...is it already that late?"

Danny let out a small sigh as he pushed himself up off the floor, followed by the two brunettes, "Looks like we were in there for longer than I thought." He muttered, quietly.

"I guess so...well, I'm gon-" Yosuke started before falling silent for a moment in shock, his eyes widening as he looked past Danny and Chie, "That's right...that's where I've seen that poster before. Look! It's that poster we saw over there!"

Chie and Danny exchanged a glance before turning around slowly, "What are you...hey you're right, they're the same. I couldn't tell before without the face, but that's Misuzu Hiiragi." Chie said, somewhat nervously, "She's been all over the news recently. Something about...well I guess her husband was having an affair with the lady who died the other day."

"Hey, so does that mean...? That weird room we saw, could it be related to that Yamano lady's death? I mean, now that I think about it...there was that creepy noose hanging from the ceiling." Yosuke shuddered, "Ugh...alright, I need to stop talking about this! I'm gonna go home and I'm gonna wipe what happened today from my brain...my poor heart can't take much more of this."

Chie nodded emphatically as she agreed, before shivering again and saying she was going home, followed closely by the other brunette, leaving Danny alone as he walked back to Dojima's house. Unfortunately he couldn't tear his mind away from what he'd seen, _'That place was creepy as hell...never thought I'd find something that was weirder than the Ghost Zone, but there we go. And what about Yosuke's idea about the place being related to that announcer's death? I mean...surely that announcer isn't the only one who doesn't like that Misuzu person, though it does seem like a hell of a coincidence.'_

The half-ghost shook his head at the thought, _'What the hell am I doing? I'm no detective...I don't even know where to start on that stuff. That other word...dimension, whatever you want to call it though...that I have experience with. It might be interesting to check it out, without having those two along to slow me down. I'd have to make sure I had a sure-fire way of getting out though. Somehow I don't think getting stuck over there would be much fun.'_

By the time he got back to the house, Danny felt like he might have understood what the other two were talking about when they said they felt sick while exploring the TV's world, his head was pounding and he felt sluggish, though he was curious as to why it had such a delayed effect on him. He done his best to shrug it off as he phased the rain off him and walked through the front door, surprised to see that Dojima was home, as he took his shoes off.

The half-ghost managed to eat a small dinner, while his uncle asked if he'd heard anything about Saki Konishi, before dismissing himself and heading up to bed. His head was pounding as he collapsed onto his futon, too tired to care about the midnight channel as he drifted into a restless sleep.

* * *

Danny stifled a yawn as he stood with the rest of the school, waiting for the principle to announce what he'd called the assembly for, "Man...this sucks. Second day in a row that I had trouble sleeping." He muttered, as he let out another unwelcome yawn, ignoring the gossip most of his classmates were indulging in. The half-ghost was easily able to drown out most of the world, up until he caught the last bits of Chie's nervous rambling.

"So that's why she isn't here. Yukiko did say she'd be here after lunch though..." The jacket-clad teen trailed off, her brow furrowing in concern as she noticed Yosuke's slightly worried expression. "Hey...is something wrong, Yosuke?"

The brunette's head shot up at his name, blinking a couple of times in surprise before shaking his head slowly, "Oh...uh, it's nothing." He muttered, non-committedly, earning a raised eyebrow from Danny at his unusually sullen mood.

'_He's obviously got something on his mind that's bothering him...it could just be him thinking about things from the TV, but...I don't know, he just seems off.'_ The half-ghost mused, though his concentration was broken as the second year history teacher, Ms. Sofue, took the stage reluctantly, followed closely by the principle.

"Everyone, please settle down. The assembly is about to begin. First, the principle has something he'd like to say." She announced, somewhat tonelessly, before stepping away from the podium to let the older man accompanying her take it.

The old man stared out at the sea of students silently for a few seconds, before taking a deep, mournful, breath, "I...regret to say, I have a terrible announcement for all of you." He spoke softly into the microphone, silencing the few whispers that had persevered up to that point. "One of our third-year students, Ms. Saki Konishi of class three...has passed away."

Danny's eyes widened in shock, a reaction shared by many of his classmates as whispers erupted throughout the room again, he briefly heard Chie questioning the news breathlessly. He ignored her as his gaze shot to Yosuke in concern, seeing his eyes wide with denial and grief as he stared at the headmaster in silent shock.

The principle paused for a moment as the students spoke among themselves before sighing deeply and carrying on, "Quiet, please, everybody. Ms. Konishi was found deceased this morning...and while there is no news yet on how she died, the reasons for her passing are currently under investigation by the police. If they ask you for your cooperation, I urge you as students of this school to provide _only_ the facts." He said solemnly, taking another moment to pause before continuing, his voice growing slightly harder, "I have been assured by the faculty that there's been no evidence that bullying was involved in the incident. So mind what you say, not only to the police, but to anyone that asks..."

The half-ghost stared up at the man, feeling as if an ice-cube had been dropped in his stomach as the speech continued on, though after the initial announcement it became significantly less important. He shook his head absently as he processed what he'd been told, unable to dismiss the feeling that he was going to be dragged, possibly kicking and screaming, into the middle of whatever had caused the girl's death.

Danny quickly regretted his thought process as he glanced at the boy next to him who was, like it or not, quickly becoming a friend to him. _'Now isn't the time to think about that, asshole...how selfish can you be? Just look at Yosuke...he adored that girl, whether he'd admit it or not. You know that this has probably crushed him, never mind the girl's family, and you're worrying about how it's going to affect you?!'_ He let out a small sigh as they walked to class together, though Yosuke didn't seem to be taking anything in, his eyes looking almost dead.

He hesitated only for a moment, before putting a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder, stopping him in his tracks as he turned to him, "I...Yosuke, I'm not really sure how to put this, but I'm sorry. I know it's got to be hard for you, but just...well, remember where your friend are, alright? I promise if you need anything, all you have to do is talk to me." Danny said quietly, somewhat unsure of himself as he offered his support, but knowing he couldn't do any less for him.

Yosuke nodded silently a few times, he could see wetness welling up in his eyes, though to the teen's credit he refused to let any tears fall, before swallowing thickly, "I...thanks." He muttered, before turning and heading forward to class, leaving Danny staring at his retreating back, conflicted at his offer of support.

* * *

The rest of the day continued mostly unchanged from the original plan, something that Danny felt both grateful and slightly uneasy about. However easily the worst thing through the day was hearing the students, and often times even the teachers themselves, gossiping about Saki Konishi's death, something that left a sour taste in his mouth which he found almost impossible to ignore. When the final bell came the half-ghost was more than eager to leave the school behind for the day, and not for the usual reasons.

Chie had quickly left Morooka's room with him when he'd grabbed his bag, Yosuke having left early, supposedly to get a drink, and the pair were making their way to the exit, planning to wait for the other brunette at the gate. Chie sighed disgustedly as they passed another pair of students, having the misfortune to hear them gossiping about Saki, "Sheesh...it's so easy to toss around theories and make stupid jokes when you're not personally involved..." She muttered tiredly.

The half-ghost nodded in agreement, opening his mouth to respond only to notice Yosuke walking towards the purposefully, though the pain he'd been displaying all day was still clear in his eyes as he came to a stop next to them, glancing around quickly before speaking, "Hey...did you guys check out the TV last night?"

Chie's eyes widened in shock, "Yosuke! Not you too!" She cried disbelievingly, though Danny merely stared at him silently, a small amount of uneasy suspicion growing in his mind.

"Just...listen for a sec, will you?!" The boy shot back defensively, "Something kept bothering me, so...I watched it again, and...I think the girl on the screen...was Saki-senpai." He mumbled, suddenly seeming to find his shoes very interesting, before looking back up at them, tears beginning to well up in his eyes again.

"There's no mistaking it...Senpai looked...she looked like she was writhing in pain...and then she just disappeared from the screen."

"What...?" Chie stared at him, seemingly torn between disbelief and horror at his story.

"You heard Senpai's body was found in a similar situation as that announcer's, right…? Well, remember that guy you told us about? How he was all excited that his soulmate was the announcer?"

Danny grimaced and ran his hand down his face in apprehension. He felt a small chill go down his spine as he realized exactly what his classmate was getting at, suddenly knowing without a doubt that his earlier thoughts from the assembly were about to be proven true.

"Maybe...just maybe, I think Ms. Yamano might have been on that midnight channel before she died too."

"What's that supposed to mean...?" Chie shook her head in confusion, though it quickly turned to denial as she put together what he was saying, "Hold on...are you saying that people who appear on that TV...die?" She asked incredulously.

Yosuke rubbed his neck uncomfortably at the question, though he didn't back down, "I can't say for sure. But something just tells me...I just can't dismiss it as a coincidence."

The girl just stared at the him, glancing at Danny quickly in disbelief before looking back at Yosuke in shocked silence, while the half-ghost shook his head slowly. "Plus, remember what that bear thing said? How that place was dangerous, and we should leave before the fog clears…? It also said that someone's been throwing people in there." The brunette reasoned, carrying on before either of them could interrupt, "And that room with the posters on the wall…it has to have something to do with the announcer's death. I mean…don't you think there's some kind of connection there? Couldn't that world in the TV have something to do with Senpai and the announcer's death?! Well…? What do you think…?" He finished, looking between the two of them, obviously desperate for them to at least consider what he was saying.

Danny ran a hand roughly through his hair, messing it up further than it already was as his mind worked through what his classmate had said. _'God...I want so much to just say he's grasping at straws to come up with a reason to why she died, but...what he's saying makes sense. And I've sure as hell seen enough to know better than to dismiss something because it seems impossible at first glance...damn it all to hell.'_

Finally the half-ghost nodded slowly, "I...damn it, I hate to admit it, but it makes sense."

Chie blinked in surprise at his acceptance, but Yosuke immediately grasped onto it, "So it's not just me then?" He asked cautiously.

"No...like I said, if what you're saying is true then we've seen more than enough to at least consider the idea."

"Right...if there is a connection, then there's a good bet that the two of them went inside that world. That would explain the posters in that room. Which means...if we look around, we might find a place that has something to do with Senpai too." He said, conviction clear on his face, leading Danny to close his eyes apprehensively as he realized what he meant to do.

'_The question now being whether I stop him or not. I'm not even sure he can get in there without me anyways...but if he can then I could easily stop him, all it would take is overshadowing him. But...I don't know, I feel like if I don't help him then he's going to find a way in himself, or at least try to, and then we might have another tragedy on our hands. At least if I go with him then I can protect him...he'd probably learn my secret but...well I'll deal with that when and if the time comes.'_

The half-ghost's eyes snapped open as he realized the conversation had continued without him, "You think we can rely on the police, Chie?!" Yosuke snapped cynically, "They haven't made any progress on the announcer's case. Besides, even if we told them about the world inside the TV, there's no way they're gonna believe us!"

The boy took a deep breath before continuing, much more subdued than before, "Look...if I'm completely off-base with this, that's fine. It's just...I need to know why Senpai had to die like this..." He said painfully.

Chie's face softened considerably as his words sunk in, "Oh Yosuke..."

'_Maybe...maybe I shouldn't let him do this. But then again...he is right about the police not being able to do anything about this. Uncle Dojima would probably be calling Mom and Dad to ask if I had mental issues by dinner time if I told him about this.'_ Danny mused, biting his lip apprehensively.

Yosuke continued to make his case for a few minutes, before turning away from the two of them, "I'm gonna go get ready...I'll be waiting for the two of you at Junes."

Danny shook his head as he watched his retreating form, before glancing at Chie when he heard her utter a sad sigh, "Yosuke...I can kinda understand how he feels...but we can't even be sure that we'll be able to get out again. What should we do...?"

The half-ghost raised a questioning eyebrow for a moment, confused at why she'd refer to him when she knew Yosuke better, before realizing the stupidity of the question. He was the only one that could take him into the other world, of course it was up to him. _'Of course...can't have anybody else take charge for once, can we? Guess I'd feel a bit weird being on the other side of the decisions though.'_ He mused derisively, before answering his classmate.

"Honestly...I think he needs this. I mean, there's no denying it'll be dangerous, but at least if we do it this way then we have a better chance of making sure he's safe than if we piss him off by telling him we won't do it and have him run off on his own. There's no telling what he might do right now...he's in a lot of pain and I really doubt he'd be capable of making a good, rational, decision. At least this way we'll be able to turn him away from the worst ideas."

Chie stared at him, wide-eyed and slack-jawed for a few moments, before shaking her head and glancing at the floor, seemingly unsure whether to agree or not, before nodding slowly. "I...guess that makes sense." She said slowly, before letting out a resigned sigh, "I guess it doesn't really matter what I think anyways. You're the one he needs to help him do this, and you seem to be just as committed to it as him, so I might as well help you guys."

Danny offered her a sympathetic smile, "Hey, don't worry too much. It'll be alright...I promise things will get better. It'll just take some time. The wounds are still fresh right now, know what I mean?"

"Yeah...I understand." She nodded, before returning his small smile, "Anyways we should probably get going. The way Yosuke was talking I wouldn't be surprised if he was already there."

The half-ghost let out a small chuckle as they walked through the school gate, "Somehow I doubt that. He's on foot, same as us, and he said he needed to get some stuff anyways, right? Even if he does get there before us, there's not much he can do besides wait."

* * *

As it turned out, Yosuke had beat them to the shopping center, though it hadn't been by much. The three of them discussed the plan, Chie trying again to dissuade her friend from going in, though she was entirely unsuccessful. Finally Yosuke had handed the girl a rope after confessing, somewhat hypocritically, that he wasn't comfortable with Chie going in again, and had asked her to keep a hold on it as a lifeline as he tied the other end around his waist.

From there the two had proceeded through the same TV they'd went through before, both in hope that they'd be able to get back out the same way and in an effort to find the bear again. The trip through the TV was much the same as it had been last time and Danny couldn't help but grumble slightly, knowing that if he wasn't so concerned with keeping his ghost half under wraps, he could have a smooth landing every time.

Yosuke groaned lightly, obviously as unhappy as he was with their landing, "Ugh...why does the floor have to hit so hard...?" The brunette muttered softly, before taking the hand Danny offered him and glancing around as he stood up, eyes wide with excitement. "Is this...? Look, we're in the same place as last time! So they are connected from place to place!" He shouted, throwing caution to the wind at his discovery.

The half-ghost was about to warn him against being so loud when his ghost sense was triggered, prompting him to whirl around on his heel as he heard something running towards them from behind him. _'Though I guess I really shouldn't be surprised...I mean this is his home, after all.'_

"Y-you guys...why'd you come back?!" The bear asked, clearly unhappy to see them again, before his face hardened into a glare that didn't quite suit him, "I get it! You're the ones behind this!"

Yosuke gaped at the mascot-like animal, hope seeming to shine in his eyes, "You're that thing from last time! We- wait...what the hell did you just say?!"

The bear's face hardened even further, clearly believing his theory that they were the culprits, "Lately, I can tell someone's been throwing people in here. It's making this world more and more messed up..." It explained slowly, "This is the second time you guys came here. And I don't think anyone forced you in. That means you're the most suspicious! You guys must be the ones throwing the people in here!" The bear concluded, sounding off with a small, unimpressive roar.

Danny let out a tired sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance at being accused, once again, of something he hadn't done. _'At least I can honestly say that I'm used to it. There's no point in getting all angry and defensive about it...just tell him what's going on and you might even be able to get him to help you, Phantom.'_

"What are you talking about, 'throwing people in'!?" Yosuke retorted angrily, before the half-ghost could think of anything intelligent to say in response, "If someone was thrown in here and they couldn't get out, they might die! Who the hell would do som-" Danny's eyes widened as he realized what Yosuke was saying, the pieces of the puzzle clicking together in his mind.

"That's it..." The half-ghost breathed, the seriousness of the situation coming down on top of him. While admittedly many of the ghosts he fought were intent on killing him, and often times other people, he'd never dealt with a true murder before.

Both the bear and Yosuke stared at him in confusion, "Huh?"

Danny shook his head at their failure to recognize what was staring them in the face, "Think about it, Yosuke...all this talk about someone throwing people in here, Saki and that announcer lady dying after showing up on the midnight channel...somebody threw them in here, Yosuke, I'm sure of it. And I expect whoever done it knew whoever they threw in wasn't going to be coming back."

Yosuke's eyes widened in realization, nodding his head slowly, "Y-yeah...I guess it does make sense, doesn't it? And...that'd mean that whoever was throwing people in here really wanted to kill them...but why? Why would you do that?" He mumbled to himself, clearly upset further by the idea that somebody had intentionally murdered his friend.

Both of the boys were pulled out of their respective thoughts when the bear growled in frustration at being ignored, "Stop mumbling things to yourselves! Why'd you come in here anyways!?" He questioned incredulously, clearly believing them to be stupid, "It's a one-way door! Once you're in you can't get out! Remember? How I had to let you guys out last time?!"

Danny nodded in acknowledgement, even as Yosuke rolled his eyes, waving a hand at the rope, which Danny noticed had been cut, likely when they went through the TV. "Yeah, whatever. We don't need your help this ti-"

"Youske...the rope's been cut. You probably shouldn't annoy him." The half-ghost interrupted, sighing at his classmate's surprised yelp at the revelation, before continuing. "Look uh...Bear, we're not looking for any trouble, at least not from you anyways. All we're trying to do is investigate what's going on, and we'd appreciate it if you'd let us out again once we're done."

The mascot's face hardened into a glare again as it growled lightly, "I'm the one who's trying to investigate this! I've lived here a long time, but it's never been noisy like this until now. Do you have proof? Prove to me that you're not throwing people in here!"

The half-ghost sighed again, shaking his head and pinching the bridge of his nose, "That's not how it works, bear...we can't just prove that we didn't do something like this. Almost everybody has a TV in their homes."

"See! So it _is_ you guys!"

"For the last time, it's not us, so we've got nothing to prove to you!" Yosuke shouted back, his temper getting the better of him, "You'd better answer our questions, bear. This isn't like last time, when we came by accident, we're dead serious now! Listen up, 'cause people have died in our world...every time fog appears, a dead body shows up with it. It's got to be related to this place somehow, so if you know something then tell us!"

"A dead body? Whenever the fog appears?" The bear's face softened in thought for a moment, obviously considering what Yosuke had told him, "Well...I know that whenever it's foggy on your side, the fog lifts here. It's really dangerous when that happens...that's when the shadows get violent. Aaah...I get it."

Danny raised a questioning eyebrow, "Alright...so if you understand it, then explain it to us, bear. How does the fog lift here if it appears in our side? And exactly what shadows are you talking about? So far the only thing we've seen when we came over here was you."

"That's why I said to hurry back! It's dangerous when that happens." The mascot said exasperatedly, before turning his glare back on them, still obviously convinced they were the culprits. "Alright, no more questions. I know you guys did it, and you'd better stop, right now!"

The half-ghost groaned as Yosuke and the bear went round and round in argument, "Ugh, you keep telling us to prove our innocence, but you're the most suspicious thing here! Maybe you're the culprit! And what's with that stupid costume? It's time you showed your real face!" Yosuke shouted at him in frustration, pulling off the mascot's head, only to reveal it was empty inside. Not that Danny had really expected much else, truthfully he hadn't expected the head to come off at all, though Yosuke was decidedly less calm about it.

"W-what the hell are you? It's empty inside!" The boy shouted, dropping the head of the costume in shock.

The bear searched around for his head for several seconds, finally managing to place it back on top of himself, before looking up at the two of them, obviously offended at Yosuke's declaration, "Me...the culprit? I wouldn't do such a thing...I just live here. I only want to live peacefully..." He trailed off, leaving an uncomfortable silence as Danny saw several parallels to some of the ghosts he'd met in the bear, "Okay. I'll believe that you guys aren't the culprits. But I want you guys to find the real guy who did all this, you have to stop him. Promise me, or else...I'm not gonna let you guys outta here." He finished with a bright smile, something that grated on Danny's nerves slightly.

"Y-you little-" Yosuke started, only to be interrupted the bear again as it burst into tears.

"This can't keep going on! My home here will be a complete mess! And then...then...I..-"

The half-ghost stared at the creature in understanding, feeling a small pang in his chest as he remembered how he felt when he started fighting ghosts in Amity Park. _'Still, there wasn't any need to threaten us. It's not like we're going to turn tail as soon as we get out...alright maybe Yosuke would, but I wouldn't. Still, it isn't the worst deal I've been forced to make. At least I'm not having to sign over-'_

Danny's eyes widened in shock as his dream from when he was on the train to Inaba suddenly flashed clearly back into his memory, wincing slightly as he felt a small pounding in his head at the sensation. _"It seems you will encounter a misfortune at your destination, and a great mystery will be imposed upon you."_

He blinked forcefully several times, bringing himself back to the present, as the bear looked up at him plaintively. "Please...you're the only ones I can ask. Promise me you'll find whoever's doing this?"

The half-ghost winced, glancing at the ground as he found himself unable to look the creature in the eye. _'Damned thing knows how to play somebody, that's for sure.'_ He thought, a small spark of annoyance coming as he glanced back at the bear, _'Still...I feel for the guy, and really it's not like I have much choice in the matter. Clockwork sent me here for a reason, after all, and even if this isn't it I can't exactly ignore what's going on here. I mean...look at this thing. There's no way it could stop whoever's doing this on its own, but __**I**__ can. What kind of person would that make me if I ignored something like this when I could help?'_

He silently wrestled with himself for several more seconds before letting out a small sigh, "Alright...I'll help." He answered, unable to ignore his conscience's prodding as he glanced at the brunette standing next to him, "But you have to let Yosuke go now." He finished firmly, clearly unwilling to compromise with the bear.

The creature's eyes widened gleefully at his answer, nodding excitedly, "T-thank you!" It squealed, surging forward and crushing the half-ghost with a surprisingly strong hug, before letting go and turning to Yosuke, "Alright I'll le-"

"I'm not leaving." Yosuke interrupted quietly, surprise clear on Danny's face when he saw the determination set in the brunette's eyes. "I...I know you're just trying to help me, Danny, but you can't do this alone any more than I can!" He reasoned, forcing the half-ghost to keep from rolling his eyes, "Besides...I-we came in here looking for some answers. Right now we're all pretty much completely in the dark about what's going on."

"Look, Yosuke..." Danny started, only to trail off as his classmate's eyes hardened at his tone. He paused for a moment before letting out another resigned sigh and nodding, prompting a smile from Yosuke. "Alright...if you really want to do this then I can't stop you..."

"That's right. So...look for the culprit, huh? Alright, bring it on! You've got my word too, bear."

Danny nodded slowly, turning back to the ecstatic bear with a small smile forced to his face, before realizing that while they'd been talking for what had probably been a solid fifteen or twenty minutes, none of them had bothered introducing themselves yet. "Well...if we're going to be working together we might as well get to know each other. My name is..." He hesitated for a moment, barely stopping himself from introducing himself as Phantom in front of Yosuke, "Er...I'm Danny Fenton, and my...friend here is Yosuke Hanamura."

The bear smiled brightly at his introduction, "I'm Teddie!"

The half-ghost blinked in a somewhat bemused silence, before letting out a small snort, shaking his head while Yosuke continued staring at Teddie incredulously for a few moments, "Of course it is..." He laughed lightly, shaking his head at his classmate's continued silence, "So...Teddie...if we're going to do this for you then we're going to need something to work with. You got any idea at all how we might be able to stop this guy from throwing any more people in here?"

"I dunno..." Teddie shrugged casually, before perking up at an apparent realization, "Oh! But I do know where the last person came in." He said brightly.

Danny flinched internally as he saw Yosuke stiffen at the words, "The last person...? You mean Saki-senpai?!" He asked desperately.

The bear shook his head, much to the brunette's disappointment. "I mean the person who came in and disappeared last time. I dunno the name. But if you follow me I'll take you there...maybe you can find some clues?" He reasoned as he started to walk away, before spinning swiftly back to face the two teenagers, reaching into one of the many pockets on his clown suit.

"Oh, one thing first. You two should put these on." He explained as he handed over a pair of orange glasses to Yosuke, before plunging his hand into the pocket again and pulling out a somewhat dated-looking, though lovingly crafted, pair goggles. The eyepieces seeming to be carved out of translucent emeralds and set into bronze frames, held together with pliable leather bands.

The half-ghost raised a skeptical eyebrow as Teddie handed him the goggles, glancing at Yosuke's glasses and back to his, "Er...why does he get glasses and I get goggles? And better yet, why do we need them?"

The bear let out a somewhat temperamental sigh, "Those goggles were one of my first successful attempts to make effective lenses for in here. I thought I needed a lot of material back then!" He said defensively, "Just put them on already!"

The boys glanced at each other skeptically, before finally submitting to his order and putting them on, a task Danny found somewhat more annoying than Yosuke did as he adjusted the goggles for his face, ignoring his classmate's gasp of shock until he finished. "What's wrong Yos-" He started to ask, looking towards the brunette, before blinking in surprise as he realized that he could see perfectly clearly, the fog having disappeared with the assistance of the goggles. "Woah..."

Yosuke nodded in agreement as he cast his gaze around wildly, "The difference is like night and day...with these on it's like the fog doesn't even exist."

"They'll help you walk through the fog. I've been here for a long time...so you can rely on me to get you there." Teddy explained, beaming proudly, though his smile quickly fell as he shifted somewhat uncomfortably, "Uh...but I can only show you where the place is. You'll have to defend yourselves."

"What happened to relying on you?!" Yosuke asked incredulously, a small spark of panic in his eyes, "Th-there better not be any monsters! You understand?! We brought weapons, but I mean...they're more for show! And besides, we just got here! If it's so dangerous why don't you do something instead of relying on us?!"

"Uh uh. No way. I've got no muscles." Teddy answered in a matter of fact tone, before hopping up and down excitedly, "Oh! Oh! I know! I'll give you guys moral support from a safe distance. How's that sound?"

Danny looked Teddy up and down skeptically, reaching out and gently pushing him away from them, only for the bear to tumble to it's back. "N-nooooo..." Teddie cried as he struggled desperately to roll back over, though with no success, prompting the half-ghost to raise an unimpressed eyebrow.

"I'm pretty sure we're better off taking his word for it." He muttered, mostly to himself.

Yosuke stared down at their guide forlornly, "I-is this thing for real?" He asked weakly, clearly not excited at the prospect of going into battle, "Ugh, this is so lame...we promised to catch the culprit and this is all the backup we get?"

"I'm sure we'll be fine, Yosuke. Second worst case scenario is that we awaken an ancient evil and it eats us first." The half-ghost replied with a shrug, obviously unconcerned by the lack of backup.

Both the brunette and the bear looked at him in confusion. "What the hell could be worse than that? That's the definition of a worst case scenario!" Yosuke asked, clearly unsettled by his classmate's casual attitude.

The half-ghost couldn't help the small smirk that spread across his face his reaction, even as he offered Teddie a hand to help him stand back up, "The worst case scenario is that we wake up Cthulu and he eats us last." He answered, barely managing to keep a level voice as Yosuke stared at him in horror, before turning to Teddie. "So...you were about to take us somewhere, right?"

The bear blinked in surprise before smiling widely, turning happily on his heel, "Yeah! Let's go!"

Danny followed Teddie closely for a few moments, before realizing that Yosuke wasn't with him. He glanced back at the brunette curiously, only to see him standing in the same spot, staring at him slack-jawed, "You coming, Yosuke?"

The brunette jumped at his voice, laughing nervously as he quickly made to follow the bear as well, "Y-yeah...I'm with ya." The boy answered twitchily.

"Hey...you do know I was joking about Cthulu, right?"

Despite the brunette's quick nod, he didn't miss the small sigh of relief the boy blew out, "O-of course I did. I mean...it's not like I'm worried about something silly like that."

The half-ghost's smirk returned to his face, "Oh. Good. After all, who knows what kind of Eldritch abominations we're going to have to fight in here?"

There was a small voice in his mind that chided him for teasing the brunette, but it was easily drowned out by his amusement as he watched the color drain from Yosuke's face all over again.


	5. Painful Revelations

Well, I promised I'd try to get out the next chapter before I left, and here I am delivering on it! I'm a little surprised, actually, but I'm glad I managed to do it. I hope you guys enjoy it, though if you don't approve I understand, and wouldn't mind _constructive_ criticism, though that's certainly not discouraging positive reviews either. I'm slightly apprehensive as far as how I did on the battles go, but if it's a horrible failure then I can only get better...right?

**Painful Revelations  
**

As it turned out, it only took Teddie a few minutes to lead the boys to where he sensed the last victim before they disappeared. Traveling in the TV World, as Danny was quickly coming to call it, seemed to follow somewhat odd patterns. If you started in a familiar place and had at least a vague idea of where it was you wanted to go, it seemed as if you could get there within minutes, rather than however long the true distance would require, at least that's how it seemed to him. Regardless, whether it was truly a mechanic of the world they were in or a trick of his senses, the important thing was that they found themselves standing in a depopulated replica of Inaba's shopping district.

'_Got to say, the swirling red skies and lack of light do wonders for it's atmosphere.'_ Danny reflected sarcastically as he cast his gaze around their surroundings, slowly tuning back into the conversation between Yosuke and Teddie.

"Why does this place look so much like our shopping district?"

Teddie shrugged, slowing down slightly as they neared the T-intersection, "Some weird places have showed up here recently. Things are getting so tangled, I dunno what to do..."

Danny nodded in understanding, even as Yosuke cast a slightly worried glance at the bear, "Uh...by the way, why are you standing so far from us?" He asked suspiciously, "You better not be planning to high-tail it if something does come up."

"Of course not! I mean...uh, I can't stand too close you know. I'd get in your way..." The bear shot back defensively, though he sounded somewhat embarrassed as he trailed off.

The half-ghost rolled his eyes behind his goggles, while Yosuke let out a frustrated sigh, "Man, they really went all out on this." He muttered, glancing at the shopping district warily, "But of all the places in town, why'd they replicate this one?"

"How am I supposed to know? This is reality for the one who's here." Teddie answered, shrugging his shoulders again.

"Oh...good to know things didn't decide to start making sense while we weren't looking. That'd be boring..." Danny drawled sarcastically, though he noticed Yosuke was fidgeting nervously, "You alright, Yosuke? You're not still worried about the 'shadows' he was talking about are you?"

Danny didn't miss the annoyed huff the brunette let out at the mention of shadows, though the boy quickly seemed to get over the comment, "No, it's just...if this is our shopping district, we're not far from Saki-senpai's..." He replied, trailing off as his eyes widened in recognition and he ran ahead of their guide, forcing his companions to chase after him.

When the two of them caught up with him they found him standing in front of a liquor store, one that Danny had only passed by a couple of times since moving to Inaba, "I knew it! This is the liquor store that Senpai's parents run. Does this mean...Senpai disappeared here? What could have happened...?" Yosuke asked quietly, though it seemed to Danny as if he was talking to himself, he was about to reach out a hand towards the brunette's shoulder when Teddie's voice rang out.

"W-wait! They're here!"

The half-ghost glanced at the mascot skeptically, "Wha-" He started to ask, but gasped as he felt his ghost sense trigger, shivering as he sensed a much more sinister presence than Teddie appear.

He swiveled towards the entrance of the building, taking an unconscious step back, joined by Yosuke and the bear, as Teddie answered their unasked question, "Shadows...I had a feeling they were going to attack!" He cried, panic tinging his voice as the three of them stared in horror at the dark masses slowly oozing through the portal-esque entrance to the store.

Danny gripped the handle of the golf-club Yosuke had shoved into his hands at Junes as he watched the four shadows twist into different shapes. The first three shadows floated off the ground as they shifted into a zebra-striped pink orbs complete with disturbingly oversized mouths, their tongues lashing about wildly, while their companion solidified itself as a monstrous replica of a vaguely human form, its clawed fingers flexing as it turned its mask-like face to stare at him.

The half-ghost barely registered Yosuke stumbling backwards, falling down as he scrambled to get away from the other-worldly beings, Teddie merely stood watching in horror as the orbs took off in opposite directions while the humanoid shadow took a few slow steps towards him, clicking its fingers together in anticipation. Danny raised his golf club threateningly, even as he felt his head begin to pound like his brain was throwing itself against his skull. There a small, muffled, voice shouting from within his head, however he couldn't understand what it was saying, and even if he had he was too busy staring down the monster in front of him to pay attention.

Danny felt a bead of sweat roll down his forehead as he glanced at his companions nervously, _'God damn it...of all the times for something like this to happen. I knew I should have made Yosuke go back! How the hell am I going to fight these things off without my powers?'_ He thought desperately as the shadow stepped closer, though he had no sudden inspirations, and then the monstrous creature was upon him. He swung the club in his hands at the shadow's head, hoping it might be enough to at least make it back off, however before the improvised weapon could even connect one of the forgotten orbs soared back into the battle, slamming into the half-ghost and sending his weapon clattering across the intersection.

The orb's mouth snapped viciously at him, its prehensile tongue dripping a viscous saliva onto his face, while he struggled to push it away, before finally letting out a frustrated roar as he channeled an ectoblast into both hands and released them. The monster launched into the air as the bolts of energy shredded its body, allowing him to push himself back to his feet.

The half-ghost glared malevolently at the shadows, his eyes burning brightly behind his goggles while a flash erupted from his middle as the familiar blue rings transformed him into Phantom. There was a moment of silence, broken only by the shadow's body dissolving as it hit the ground, as all eyes turned to stare at him in astonishment, before the remaining two orbs soared towards him, screeching loudly. Danny quickly hurled two more ecto-bolts at the monsters, the first orb managed to swerve out of the path of the bolt, however the other wasn't so lucky and screeched as the energy tore through it, sending it crashing to the ground.

Danny glanced quickly at the orb as it skid to a stop near him, though he was forced to ignore its writhing form as he ducked away from the last flying monster. He thrust a glowing hand towards the closest orb, managing to snatch it from the air by its tongue, and spun around quickly as the humanoid monster launched itself towards him, "Catch this!" He shouted angrily, catapulting it into the other shadow, sending them both flying through the air until they slammed into the liquor store's barred windows, shattering the glass. The two monsters both struggled to rise from the ground, however before either of them managed to do so a pair of ecto-bolts slammed into each of them, dissolving them on the spot.

"Sensei, watch out!" Teddie shouted, prompting Phantom to swivel his head back to the shadow he'd left writhing on the ground, only to feel it slam into his side, sending the two of them tumbling along the ground. He quickly managed to untangle himself from the wounded monster, slamming it back down onto the ground as he charged his foot with ecto-energy and curb-stomped the orb.

The half-ghost grimaced in disgust as a stinking black substance splattered across his pants, "Ugh...gross." He muttered, trying to scrape the pasty substance off the bottom of his shoe while the last monster disintegrated in the background, though he quickly spun around, charging another ecto-bolt in his hand as he heard footsteps running up behind him.

Both Yosuke and Teddie screeched to a halt, the bear almost tumbling over again, their eyes widening fearfully as they saw Danny turn his glowing hand on them, though he quickly dropped it, backing up in surprise. _'Oh shit...I forgot about them! And...oh man...now they know! I mean, with Teddie I guess it's no big deal, who's he gonna tell, but Yosuke? Damn it! What the hell am I supposed to-'_

"Woah...w-what the hell was that?!" Yosuke asked in amazement, tearing Danny away from his thoughts, "I mean, what did you do?! Do you think I can do it too?!" He continued on, excitement clear in his voice, apparently having already forgotten the terrifying experience that had forced his classmate to out himself.

"Calm down, Yosuke. You're troubling Sensei!" Teddie chided, drawing a confused glance from Phantom and wide eyes from the brunette.

"S-sensei?"

"Gosh almighty! You're amazing, Sensei! I am one impressed bear! I can't believe you were hiding such amazing power...no wonder the shadows were scared of you!" He raved, clearly just as impressed as Yosuke.

"What do you mean scared of me?" Danny cut in, shaking his head in confusion, "They sure as hell didn't seem scared to me, at least not until I started killing them."

The bear shook his head passionately, "No way, Sensei! I could sense it from the beginning that they were scared, I just didn't realize it was you! I can't blame them, you handled them like a pro!" He reasoned, before gasping, "Wait, are _you_ the one that's able to bring people to this world?"

The half-ghost nodded hesitantly, _'I could let them believe my powers only extend to this world but...ugh, they already know. I hate to do this, but I just feel like keeping secrets like that would only cause more issues later.'_ He let out a tired sigh, shaking his head at his thoughts, _'I just know I'm going to end up regretting this...'_

"Yeah, but...well, aside from being able to bring people in here my powers aren't tied to this place at all. I've had them for a couple years now...I'd explain it to you, but somehow I don't think this is the time or place. Just...for now let's just leave it at I have a lot of experience using them to fight inter-dimensional beings." He admitted reluctantly, drawing further looks of amazement from his companions.

"Hah! This is amazing, don't you think, Yosuke?" Teddie asked, reverently.

The brunette nodded his head in similar amazement to the bear, before narrowing his eyes, "Wait! Dude, you call him Sensei and then don't show me any respect? What the hell's up with that?!"

"Sorry..." The bear replied, flinching away from Yosuke slightly, causing the brunette's face to soften slightly.

"W-well...your support wasn't bad, though." He offered.

Teddie's eyes watered lightly as he smiled up at Yosuke in surprise, "Huh? R-really?" He asked, before giggling happily at the compliment.

"Alright, you two keep it up, and I think we'll be fine from here on out. Now, let's get back to the investigation!" Yosuke all but ordered, ignoring the fact that he had spent the entire fight cowering on the ground, not that Danny blamed him. Even with his experience fighting ghosts, the shadows seemed to have an overwhelmingly sinister presence to them.

Phantom shook his head, ignoring the brunette's attempts to take control of the situation as he took the lead, cautiously stepping through the swirling doorway, unable to make out the muffled whispers that had started when they got closer to the building. As soon as they entered the store the voices became much clearer, causing Yosuke to wince as they heard a man yelling.

"_Saki, how many times do I have to tell you!?"_

Yosuke blinked in surprise, apparently recognizing the voice, "This...this is Senpai's dad..."

"_You know what the neighbors say about you, right?! Aren't you ashamed of yourself? You're the eldest daughter of a family who's owned this store for generations! Is it the money? Or did you meet some guy there? Just tell me why you have to work THERE, of all places!"_

"I-I can't believe this..." Yosuke muttered as they slowly wandered towards the counter, "She seemed like she had fun at work...she never said anything like this to me, are you telling me _this_ is how she really saw things?" He asked timidly.

Danny let out a small sigh as they reached the counter, glancing at the photos that littered it, most of them various images of Saki and Yosuke laughing together in Junes, though the vast majority of them were cut into pieces. The half-ghost looked at them with a building sense of apprehension. He'd only seen photos cut up like this once, and that was when Sam had thrown their various scrap-book pictures back at him after breaking up with him.

Just as he picked one of the pictures up he felt a small breeze shift through the store, prompting him to spin around, raising a glowing fist, though he was puzzled to see nothing, until a familiar voice began to echo around the store.

"_I...I never had a chance to say it..."_

Yosuke's eyes widened in shock as he spun around quickly, searching desperately, "That's Senpai's voice!"

"_I always wanted to tell Hana-chan..."_

"H-huh? Me...?"

"_That he was a real pain in the ass."_ Phantom winced at the words, glancing back at Yosuke, unsurprised to see him in denial. _"I was nice to him just because he was the store manager's son, that's all…but he takes it completely the wrong way and gets all enthusiastic…what a loser."_

"P-pain in the ass...?" The brunette muttered, hurt clear in his eyes.

"_Who cares about Junes, anyway? Because of that store, our business is ruined, my parents hate me, the neighbors talk behind my back…I wish everything would just disappear…"_

Yosuke shook his head angrily, "I-It's a lie…This can't be…Senpai's not like that…!" He cried indignantly, only to jump almost a foot in the air, while both Phantom and Teddie spun around quickly as they heard mocking laughter.

Danny's eyes widened in disbelief as he saw an almost perfect copy of Yosuke approaching them from the corner of the store, the only differences being the pulsing aura of darkness and a pair of golden eyes replacing Yosuke's normal brown ones.

"_It's soo sad...I feel so sorry for myself...boohoo."_ The doppelganger began, sniffing mockingly, before letting out another laugh, _"Actually...I'm the one that thinks everything's a pain in the ass."_

"H-huh? Two Yosukes?" Teddie's eyes darted back and forth between the two brunettes, confusion clearly ruling the bear's mind, something Danny felt he could understand at the moment.

Yosuke shook his head violently in denial, "Who are you?! I...I wouldn't think anything like that!"

The clone rolled its eyes at the argument, laughing as it made its way towards them, _"Hah, yeah right. How long are you going to keep deluding yourself? Screw the shopping district, and Junes too! You're sick of everything, especially living out in the sticks!"_ It shot back as it leaned against a stack of kegs, crossing his arms leisurely.

"W-what are you saying?! That's not true, I-"

"_You put on a good show of being carefree and happy-go-lucky 'cause you're so terrified of being alone. The more the merrier, right? You've gotta be surrounded by people to block out the pain of isolation. And what's this about checking out this world for Saki-senpai's sake? Hah! I know the real reason you came snooping..."_

"S-stop it!" Yosuke shouted desperately, shaking his head in denial, "Just shut up!"

Danny's eyes widened as he saw the doppelganger's aura pulse, swirling erratically, as if it was feeding off of the brunette's denials, though before he could point this out the clone was cackling hysterically, _"Hahaha! Why so panicked? I thought I was just spouting bullshit! Or maybe… I DO know everything you're thinking! Why's that…? Because I AM you! You just came because it sounded like a good idea at the time! What the hell else is there to do in this shit hole? A world inside the TV though...now __**that's**__ exciting! You didn't have a single other reason for coming here did you?"_

"That's not true...stop. Stop it!" The brunette shouted back, stumbling backwards, unaware of the effect his denials seemed to be having on the other brunette.

Danny quickly caught his classmate before he fell down, "Yosuke, you have to stop! This thing's playing you!" He warned as he steadied him, though it seemed his words were ignored.

"_You're just trying to act like a big shot… If all went well, hey, maybe you could even be a hero! And that Senpai you were so sweet on? Her death was the perfect excuse!"_ The copy shouted exuberantly.

"That's not true, damn it! What are you?! _Who_ are you?!"

The clone chuckled darkly, a satisfied grin spreading across his face, _"I already told ya. I'm you...your shadow. There's nothing I don't know about you."_

The half-ghost's eyes widened drastically as he realized exactly what the doppelganger was saying, turning back to Yosuke again, though his warning came too late. "Screw that! I don't know you! You can't be me you son of a bitch!" The teenager screamed back, much to Danny's disappointment and the shadow's apparent glee as it cackled, its eyes widening in triumph as its aura pulsed one more time before a blindingly bright light erupted, shattering the store around them.

When the light had faded the store had been replaced by another studio, TV's lining the catwalks at regular intervals, some showing only static while others showcased moments in Yosuke's life. However the most important change had came in the form of Yosuke's shadow. Where it had once been an almost perfect copy of the brunette, there was now an enormous shadow sitting on the back of a giant, vaguely frog-like creature. The frog's mouth opened hungrily, revealing rows upon rows of razor-sharp teeth.

"_I am a shadow...the true self. I'll crush anything that bores me...starting with you!"_ The shadow shouted, lunging forward, intent on crushing the group, though Phantom managed to push them forward, diving away from the monster's reach.

Danny shook his head in frustration as Teddie ran towards them, panic clear in his eyes, "Damn it! Teddie, you help him, I'll keep this thing distracted!" He ordered, waiting for the bear's nod before pushing off into the air, building energy within his body before rocketing towards the shadow's chest before it could attempt to deliver another crushing blow to his allies.

The shadow roared in anger as it was sent crashing to the ground, though it quickly picked itself back up, swiping its arms through the air in an attempt to slap its antagonist out of the air. The half-ghost managed to evade it for a few minutes, even landing several hits with ecto-blasts, before the monster channeled its anger into magic, letting out an angry bellow while slashing its hands towards him.

Danny's eyes widened in shock as the shadow hurled a blade-like wind spell towards him, turning intangible only to feel the spell cut into his chest deeply and send him plummeting to the ground anyways, landing roughly next to Yosuke and the bear. He let out a pained gasp, unsurprised to see a mixture of red and green slowly soaking through his shirt and now tattered vest. _"I know everything!"_ The monster suddenly shouted, TV's crackling back to life and showing a pair of girls trash-talking the 'Prince of Junes'. _"I know just how pathetic you really are!"_

Phantom groaned as he pushed himself back to his feet, looking warily around at the quickly growing pools of black in the studio, while Yosuke continued denying the shadow's claims. "Oh no! He's beginning to attract the other shadows!" Teddie cried, looking desperately towards the only one of them that was having any affect whatsoever on the monster, "Sensei, you have to do something quick or things are going to get really grisly!"

The half-ghost glanced towards the bear, nodding quickly, before launching back into the air, slamming into Yosuke's shadow again, though this time the effect was significantly less noticeable, and he was forced to go back onto the defensive again. _"You see that everybody just barely tolerates you! And then you still try to pretend that they're your friends!"_ It mocked as Danny barely managed to dodge another attack, the wind spell cutting deeply into the wall behind him, while the ecto-bolts he shot back in retaliation only made the monster stumble backwards slightly, even as another scene played on the TV, the shadow mocking Yosuke at Saki's rejection of him.

"_You were bored out here in the boonies so you decided to ask her out! All you wanted was some cheap friends, but she saw right through you!"_

"You're wrong! Stop it you're wrong!" Yosuke shouted back desperately as Phantom weaved through the shadow's attacks, desperately reaching for his ice powers, flinging several cryo-plasm shards at the monster, only for them to shatter on impact, while the monster's retaliatory attack hit him with full force. He let out a pained shout as he hurtled back to the ground again, slamming against it hard enough to bounce back into the air, before rolling back to his feet and running away from the shadow, back towards Yosuke.

"Damn it, Yosuke, you're giving it more power! Stop talking!" He shouted desperately, barely managing to dodge another attack before spinning around, building up a mixture of cryo and ecto-plasm. He held it for several seconds before finally releasing it in a heavy beam, fueling it with his desperate need to destroy the monster before it grew any more powerful, though he was unwilling to unleash his wail, doubtful that either he, his companions, or the studio they were in would be able to take it.

The shadow desperately tried to evade the attack but failed miserably, getting caught center-mass with the beam. It let out a pained and angry roar, struggling for several seconds, before bursting into another bright flash. When the light faded again the half-ghost was both relieved and dismayed to see that while the monster was gone, Yosuke's shadow was still there in it's doppelganger form. He stared at it for a few moments, before shaking his head and stumbling his way over to the real Yosuke, who had adopted a fetal position next to Teddie.

"I...I..." Yosuke shook slightly, as he realized the battle was, at least temporarily, over, slowly pushing himself back to his feet as the Liquor store slowly returned.

Teddie gazed at the brunette in concern, "Yosuke, are you okay?"

The brunette nodded hesitantly, "Y-yeah..." He muttered, before his eyes widened in shock as he took in Danny's state, "Holy shit...what happened to you...?" He asked, fear clear on his face as he looked at his classmate's tattered and bloodstained clothes, as well as the already forming bruise blooming across his cheek.

Phantom stared at him for a few seconds, glad his goggles were hiding the annoyance in his eyes, before motioning over at the shadow standing silently in the corner of the room, "You kept denying it...it was giving it more power." He explained tiredly, "It's fine though. I...understand what it's like to see the worst parts of yourself brought to light." He finished hesitantly, a quick image of Dan flashing through his mind, forcing him to suppress a shudder that had absolutely nothing to do with the TV world.

Danny was ripped violently from his thoughts as he heard Yosuke start to argue against his shadow again, the half-ghost wincing as he heard the doppelganger begin to murmur insidiously, though the brunette was thankfully interrupted by Teddie.

"That thing came from you, Yosuke...you have to accept it or it'll go berserk again." The bear warned gently, though the teenager still seemed to be reluctant to do so.

"Look...Yosuke, like I said, I understand how this feels." Phantom said slowly, briefly resting a hand on his classmate's shoulder before wincing as he realized he was dripping blood and ectoplasm on his clothes and quickly withdrew his hand, "But no matter what this thing says, you're still you. The things its saying are true, sure, but he's part of you, not _all_ of you."

The brunette nodded hesitantly, "Myself...damn it...it hurts to face yourself...I knew it wasn't lying...but I was so ashamed that I didn't want to admit it." He muttered bitterly, glancing at the floor before looking pointedly back at his shadow, "You're me...and I'm you. When you get down to it, all of this is me..." He finished, before trailing off.

The shadow stared at the boy for a few seconds, before small smile spread across its face while it nodded. There was another bright flash of light, causing Danny's heart to skip a beat, and when it faded a much more benevolent form of his shadow's form appeared in the air, wearing a white jumpsuit. _"I am thou...and thou art I. You have displayed the strength of will to face your true self. I am the facade used to overcome life's hardship, the Persona Jiraiya."_

The half-ghost stared at the Persona in amazement, _'Wait...those words. I've heard them before...when I first saw the midnight channel! But...what do they mean? Why do I feel like there's something I'm missing...like there's something wrong here?'_ He pondered, though he quickly dismissed the idea as he heard Yosuke start speaking again.

"A...Persona. This is my Persona. When we heard Senpai's voice...I wonder if that's something Senpai had been keeping deep down inside..." He muttered, trailing off into a sad laugh, "Heh...'He was a real pain in the ass.' huh? Geez...this is so embarrassing."

"You don't have to be embarrassed because of us...it hurts when you find out what the people you think are your friends really think about you sometimes." Danny replied, offering a sympathetic smile.

"If you weren't here, I don't know what woulda happened...thanks, Danny."

Phantom shook his head, "It's what I do, Yosuke."

The brunette looked at him somewhat skeptically, before nodding slowly, his mind obviously wandering back to the liquor store, "Hey, Teddie...could Senpai have been attacked by her other self here? Like what just happened with me?" He asked quietly.

"I think so. The shadows here were originally born from humans. Sometimes the fog clears, then they all go berserk...and then you saw what happens next. A strong-willed Shadow draws others to it. And then the mass of shadows kills the host."

"So that's why people die when it gets foggy in our world..." Yosuke muttered, trailing off again tiredly, before flinching back to full attention, glancing around the studio jerkily.

Danny let out an equally tired sigh, starting towards the exit of the store, "Alright...we need to get out of here, Teddie. Yosuke's wiped and I need to get back to our world so I can take him home and get myself patched up."

The bear nodded in understanding, hopping to follow him, along with Yosuke. "I think that's a good idea, Sensei. This world isn't made for humans, it's not comfortable for you here."

The half-ghost glanced back at Teddie skeptically, "What do you mean? Other than the fact that Yosuke's shadow just beat the crap out of me, I feel fine." He asked curiously, before his mind flashed back to how he had felt a delayed effect the night before, "Though...now that I think of it, I did start to feel sick after leaving last night."

Yosuke shook his head, "No...the bear's right. I feel like crap...I mean, facing my shadow probably didn't help but I felt it yesterday too. Uh...sorry about my shadow though."

Danny waved him off carelessly, "Don't worry about it. I've had a lot worse..." He muttered, wincing as a cut on his chest pulled tightly at the motion, _'Not in a long time though...that Shadow...really all of them, were a lot tougher than most of the ghosts I've fought.'_

The brunette raised a skeptical eyebrow while Teddie stared at him with wonder in his eyes, "Amazing, Sensei! Humans usually can't stand being in here for very long at all. Hmm...I wonder if it's because of the power that you have?" The bear asked curiously, causing Phantom to flinch as Yosuke perked up slightly at the mention of his powers.

"That's right...you said you had them before we came here right? You said that you'd explain things when it wasn't so dangerous...so maybe you should do it now, since we're apparently sharing secrets." The brunette said jokingly, though, from glancing at his face, Danny could tell that he clearly expected a serious answer.

"I..." He started, almost wanting to tell him to mind his own business, though he thought better of it, sighing reluctantly, "Alright...I guess it's only fair." He admitted, pausing a few moments to collect his thoughts before he began explaining the basics of how he'd gotten his powers and some of the ghosts he'd fought, though the story was watered down quite a bit. Both for the sake of brevity and also due to his reluctance to divulge the information at all, though it seemed that both his companions were satisfied, Teddie seemed even more enamored with him than he had before.

The two of them asked questions several times throughout his explanations, some of them he answered honestly while giving half-truths to most of them, though there were a few that he managed to skillfully dodge, unwilling to answer them, though not wanting to seem like they were a big deal. By the time they reached the studio again, the half-ghost was exceedingly grateful that traveling between locations didn't take long in this world, and that Yosuke's attention had wandered back to the case in the short silence as they stopped in front of the stack of TVs.

"Hey, Teddie. You said that this place is reality for the people who enter, right? So that shopping district, and that weird room we saw before...did they exist because the ones who died entered this world, and it became their reality?" He asked, stumbling over his words slightly at the end, "I guess what I'm trying to ask is… Did those places form because of the people who entered this world?"

The mascot shrugged innocently, "I don't know...this has never happened before. But that was probably where they were when their shadows attacked them. I guess the fog does lift here sometimes, but not often. When it does the shadows get really violent...I always get really scared and I have to run and hide." He muttered ashamedly, "I did sense people here twice before. But...they disappeared after the fog lifted.

Yosuke glanced at the floor clearly in thought for a moment before glancing back up the bear, "So...Senpai and that Yamano lady got thrown in here, and since they couldn't get out, they wandered around. After a while, that shadow...thing... came out of them, and when the fog cleared it went nuts and killed them. So...if I'd been in here until the fog cleared, I woulda been in much deeper trouble?" He asked hesitantly.

Teddie nodded solemnly, "Yeah. I'm pretty sure. You were really lucky Sensei and me were here with you."

"Damn it!" The brunette cursed angrily, clearly realizing exactly how things must have been for the two women. "Saki and that announcer...they were stuck here all alone...they died because no one could save them."

Danny felt a sharp pang in his chest that had nothing to do with his injuries, _'You could have...you could have saved them, if you had just known about it.'_ A voice muttered in his head, prompting him to stare at the ground guiltily. _'Even if you couldn't have done anything about the announcer...there was still a whole day between when you found out you could get into the TV and when Saki died. If you had just known...you could have saved her...'_

"Yosuke...they disappeared when the fog lifted. But they were safe before that. No shadows attacked them." Teddie explained gently, though his tone became curious as he continued, "They attacked us though...maybe they're keeping a close eye on us?"

The half-ghost nodded in understanding, "It kind of makes sense...they could have realized we were trying to figure out what happened and saw us as enemies. They might have attacked us, sure, but I was able to fight them off. If somebody else gets thrown in here, we should be able to find them and get them out of here before the fog clears again."

"Wait...you're saying you want to come back in here and save people if they get tossed in here? Like you did with me?" Yosuke asked incredulously.

Danny raised an eyebrow at the brunette's tone, "Yes. Look, Yosuke, I don't expect you to understand, but I have a responsibility to help people. I have powers that nobody else does...if I don't use them to save people, then who else will?"

Both of his companions stared at the him in amazement for a few moments before the brunette nodded in understanding, "I...yeah, I get it, Danny. And you're right...I can help you too. Jiraiya, my Persona...I can use him. I...it's hard to explain, but I just...I feel like I have power that I can use to fight those things now." He explained, glancing away in embarrassment at his inability to properly describe what he meant.

"I think I understand." Phantom said slowly, after a small silence, "If...if you're sure you want to do this, and that you can handle it, I'm not going to stop you. Between the fight with those shadows, and everything else that's going on, I get the feeling that I'm going to need all the help I can get to catch the bastard that's doing this."

Yosuke nodded gratefully, before Teddie jumped back into the conversation, "U-um...can I ask something? If shadows are born from humans, what was Teddie born from?" The bear asked tentatively, prompting a confused glance between the two teenagers.

"Teddie, I'm sorry, but if you don't even know where you came from, how would we?" Danny replied carefully, receiving a slightly depressed shrug in response.

"I don't know...I know a few things. Mostly about this world...to be honest, I never really thought about it until now."

Yosuke shook his head sympathetically, "Man...no wonder we couldn't get a straight answer from you."

The bear let out a long sigh before looking back up at them pleadingly, "Will you guys...come back here...?" He asked plaintively.

The half-ghost nodded, "Of course I will, Teddie. I made a promise...I _never_ break my promises." He responded seriously, unable to suppress the shudder that ran up his spine at the thought of his most important promise.

'_I promised that I'd never turn into him...god, I hope I can keep it.'_

"You'll...keep your word?"

"I will...besides, even if I didn't want to, you're the one that said you wouldn't let us out of here if we didn't."

Teddie blinked, blushing slightly at the comment, "Th-that's right! Okay, I'll let you guys out." He said, his happy demeanor back, "There is one thing though...I'll be waiting for you here, but you need to come in from the same place every time. So we can meet up."

"The...same place? You mean the TV at Junes?"

The bear nodded enthusiastically, "You could come in from somewhere else, but then you won't end up here. You could show up somewhere that I couldn't get to you. Then you'd be dooooooomed..." He explained, trailing off playfully. "You got it?!"

"Well...pretty much." Yosuke answered reluctantly, shifting uncomfortably, "Alright, can you let us out now?"

"Roger that! One exit coming up!"

Danny snorted at the bear's antics slowly walking towards the tower, "Alright...we just need to make sure nobody is out there first, and then I need to switch ba-" He started to say, though his eyes widened in terror as the bear ignored him, pushing the boys into the screens.

"Okay, go go go! Squiissshh!"

"W-wai-" He started, but his cry was cut off as he plunged head-first through the TV, feeling himself tumbling through the abyss before being spit back out into Junes, groaning pathetically as his chest impacted the floor, while Yosuke slammed onto his back.

The half-ghost tried to blink the stars away from his eyes desperately, though they quickly widened in shock as he heard a familiar screech, looking up to see Chie staring down at him, "Y-you guys came baaack!" She cried, before letting out another scream when she took in his new form. "W-what happened to you?!" She screeched in terror.

Danny shook his head quickly, glancing around desperately as the rings appeared around his middle and transformed him back into Fenton, drawing another squeal from Chie while he pushed Yosuke off of him and scrambled to his feet, "Shh shshh shhh! Chie, it's just me! Quiet, please, I can explain later!" He whispered desperately, as Yosuke slowly joined him on his feet.

"I-I what?!" The girl asked desperately, though the other brunette didn't quite seem to grasp the situation.

"Huh? Chie...what's with that face?" Yosuke asked in confusion, clearly not understanding the terror of seeing your classmate pop out of the TV covered in blood and looking completely different than he had when he went in. Thankfully the punch Chie delivered to his shoulder seemed to calm her down at least little bit.

"You guys are such jerks! You're such morons!" She shouted, stomping her foot as angry tears rolled down her face, "I can't believe this, you guys suck! The rope got cut off...and I had no idea what to doooo! I was so worried...I mean, scared stiff damn it! I hate you both!" She finally finished, stamping her foot one more time before spinning around and sprinting away from them angrily.

"I...I think that might have kinda sorta been our fault."

Danny blinked, staring at Yosuke incredulously before shaking his head, "Nah...ya think?" He asked sarcastically, rolling his eyes at his classmate's power for understatements. "Look...we'll apologize to her tomorrow, and I'll have to explain why I looked so different too." He muttered reluctantly, "But for now, let's get you home."

The brunette blinked in surprise at his bluntness before nodding slowly, "Yeah...probably a good idea, I'm wiped out..." He muttered tiredly, leading the way out of Junes. "Really though, you don't need to walk me home, I'll be fine."

The half-ghost shook his head, "No offense, Yosuke, but you look like crap. I'm not going to leave you alone right now." He said in a matter of fact tone, raising an eyebrow as the brunette let out a derisive snort. "What?"

"Dude...you have no room to talk. You look like shit...but I'll admit that when you're not covered in blood that other you looks pretty badass." He said, chuckling as Danny rolled his eyes.

"Whatever...let's just hurry up. I need to clean myself up...blood is hard as hell to get out of white, and it's even harder to explain why you have stains like that on all your clothes." He sighed, drawing another concerned stare from Yosuke, though the brunette chose to ignore it, falling silent as he led the way to his house.

* * *

'_Why the hell haven't I bought a freaking umbrella yet? Seriously...I have got to be the stupidest person in this town not to have one, as often as it rains here.'_ Danny thought, sighing in irritation as he felt his shirt clinging tightly against his skin. _'At this rate, I'm going to have to change my bandages as soon as I get home...they won't do me any good if they're soaked. Still, I appreciate Yosuke let me use his bathroom to clean up...at least now I only have to explain away that huge-ass bruise on my face. Damn it...looks like it's time for the legendarily clumsy Fenton to make a reappearance. Ah well...it could be-hello? What's she doing here?'_

The half-ghost blinked in surprise as he saw a somewhat sad-looking Yukiko sitting under the gazebo off the side of the flood plains' road. His previous thoughts flew out the window as he turned to walk over, meeting her curious gaze with his own. "Daniel-kun...what are you doing out here? Where's your umbrella?" She asked, concern clear in her eyes, though he easily waved off her question.

"Ah...yeah. I still need to get one...I didn't realize how much it rained here before I moved." He answered with a sheepish smile, before casting a curious glance at her kimono. "So...you wear that kind of stuff often then?" He asked, hoping to redirect the conversation away from himself.

The girl blinked in surprise at his explanation and sudden change of topic before glancing down at her clothes tiredly, "Oh...are you surprised to see me dressed this way?" She asked, each of her words clipped with a seemingly subconscious formal air, "My parents sent me out on an errand..." Her words trailed off slightly towards the end, as if she'd just remembered something mildly unpleasant.

Danny's brow furrowed in concern, "Yukiko? Are you alright? You seem bothered by something...I mean...I understand if you don't want to talk to me, since you don't know me very well, but I'm here if you need me. And if you don't then I'm sure Chie would be willing to listen."

'_Probably not tonight though...she's dealing with her own issues right now, I'm sure...yeah, sorry about that Chie.'_

A small frown crossed the girl's face, her ebony hair swaying as she shook her head softly, "N-no...I'm alright. Thank you though, Daniel-kun." She answered. She sighed deeply, seeming to think carefully about what to say next when her eyes widened and she let out a small gasp, "W-what happened to your face?!" She asked, horrified as she motioned to the big ugly blue and purple welt spreading across his jaw and cheek.

Danny let out a well-practiced embarrassed laugh at the question, wincing slightly as he felt a small pang go through his face, "I uh...well, I'm kind of clumsy. I..." He muttered with a small smile that belied his mind's quick dismissal of several lies before settling on one with a sigh, "I tripped coming down the steps at school and hit my face on the handrail."

Yukiko's eyes widened even further at the explanation, staring at the ugly blotch in sympathy, "A-are you okay?"

The half-ghost nodded, letting out another, smaller, laugh as he waved his hand through the air, entirely unconcerned by the injury, "Oh yeah, I'm fine...trust me, this kind of thing happens more often than I'd like to admit." He replied nonchalantly, though his smile faltered slightly at her skeptical stare. "I'm _really_ clumsy..."

The girl gazed at him with concern for several more seconds before shaking her head, "If you say so...so um, are you getting used to living here in Japan?" She asked, a somewhat awkward air falling over the conversation.

He shrugged in response, "Well, it's a little strange, I won't lie. The culture shock is about what you'd probably expect, and I've never really moved since I was a little kid...my parents built up their lab with government grants over years, so we never really left Amity Park. But...I think I like this place. There's just something about it."

"Really...? Well, I think I can kind of understand. It must be difficult moving to a place you know nothing about. I've never really been out of Inaba, so I wouldn't know what it's like to transfer schools, never mind go to a different country..." She said quietly, glancing away for a moment before looking back to him, a surprised look on her face, as if she'd just remembered something. "Oh! How are you getting along with Chie? I mean, I always leave so early, so...umm..."

Danny blinked at her suddenly change in conversation, _'I guess I'm not the only one that knows how to do that...'_ He mused, somewhat bemused by the reversal of roles.

"Er...well, I think it's going alright...Yosuke and I kind of made her mad today but, assuming she ever talks to us again, I think we're getting along pretty well." He answered, rubbing his neck sheepishly at the confession.

Yukiko nodded, "Well, if Yosuke was with you then it wouldn't surprise me. He seems to have a talent for it...but I'm sure she'll forgive you. Chie's very supportive, you know. It's always her who gives me the extra little push I need. We had homeroom together last year too, and I still remember how we'd cut class sometimes." She said, a fond smile crossing her face, though it quickly faded as she glanced at her watch, "Oh...I need to get going. I have to make tomorrow's arrangements with our head chef. Our inn can't function without me right now. Um… I'll see you at school, then."

The half-ghost nodded in understanding, "Alright...I need to get home too. Don't work too hard, Yukiko." He said, offering her a friendly smile, before making his way back to the road, his smile quickly falling as he trudged through the rain back to the house, though he was thankful at least that it didn't take long to get back.

Danny was unsurprised to find Nanako alone in the house, Dojima apparently still at the office. He'd waved a quick hello to his cousin before hurrying upstairs, quickly stripping his school uniform and taking a quick shower before changing his bandages. He tenderly pulled on his pajamas before heading back downstairs, offering a small smile to Nanako as he sat down next to her on the couch.

The girl looked at him in surprise for a few seconds, though she smiled half-heartedly in return before turning back to her show, the two of them sitting in rarely broken silence for the next couple hours, broken only when they ate dinner. "Dad's late..." Nanako sighed as she sat back down from washing her plate.

He glanced at her sympathetically, opening his mouth to console her, only to be interrupted as the local news' music sounded off, _"Our next story is an update in our ongoing report on the bizarre murders occurring in Inaba. At around 7:00 A.M., local high school student Saki Konishi was found dead in Inaba's residential area."_ The announcer droned, sounding for all the world as if he was merely commenting on the weather, _"Since the body was positioned similarly to the last victim, and since Ms. Konishi was the one who discovered that body…Police are proceeding under the assumption that this may be a serial murder case related to the death of Mayumi coroner's report has established Ms. Konishi's time of death at around 1:00 A.M. last night. The body went unnoticed until this morning as a result of the heavy fog blanketing the area."_

Danny watched the screen, a small pit forming in his stomach at the girl's name, though he was quickly distracted from it as Nanako broke her silence again, "Another incident...Dad won't be coming home tonight." She stated, clearly trying to be calm, though the worry was clear in her eyes.

The half-ghost gazed at the girl, a small feeling of helplessness prevailing inside him at her acceptance of the situation, "I'll be here with you..." He offered quietly, both unwilling and unable to sit silently after her declaration.

Nanako shrugged sadly in response, "...I'll be okay. Can...you help me do some stuff around the house?" She asked hopefully, a small smile spreading across her face when he nodded without hesitation.

"…_Amagi Inn, located upstream of Samegawa River, is the town's oldest historical landmark. Vacationers are known to travel surprising distances in order to visit its open-air, radium-rich hot springs. After the incident with Ms. Yamano, the manager has stepped aside, leaving her daughter Yukiko to fill her shoes."_

Danny's head whipped back to the TV as he heard Yukiko's name, surprised to see the girl standing in the same pink kimono she'd been wearing when he saw her earlier, _"In other words, she's a manager who's still in high school. Now that has a nice ring to it...let's see if we can interview her. Excuse me!"_

He watched as the girl spun to look at the reporter, clearly surprised to be addressed, _"Hmm? Um...are you speaking to me?"_

"_Of course! We've heard that you're the new manager. Is it true that you're still in high school?"_

Yukiko shifted uncomfortably at the question shaking her head, _"Oh, well, I'm only filling in temporarily..."_ She answered awkwardly.

The reporter laughed obnoxiously, shaking his head at her answer, _"Some day though...that aside though, wow! You're looking gorgeous in that kimono! You must have a lot of male visitors."_ He stated, both Danny and Yukiko's eyes widening at the reporter's nerve.

"_H-huh? No, um..."_

Nanako sighed tiredly glancing at him, "This is boring...oh, I need to finish the dishes. Can you fold the laundry for me?" She asked.

Danny nodded in agreement, before smiling, "Sure."

* * *

Static crackled across the TV as it blinked to life, drowning out the rain pattering heavily against the window, forcing the half-ghost sitting tiredly on his couch to jerk back to life, squinting at the blurry image of a girl as she faded onto the screen. He pushed himself up off the couch, stumbling to his dresser tiredly, though it didn't do much to help him make out who it might be. _'She...looks vaguely familiar. Wearing a kimono, I guess...but, then that could be half the town. Does it really matter what she's wearing? Damn, it I wish I could see her face...'_ He thought, frustration reigning supreme as he reached a hand to the screen, though the image dissipated as soon as his fingers dipped through the screen.

A sigh sounded across his room as Danny turned the TV off and stumbled towards his futon, collapsing pathetically onto the bedding. _'Ugh...this is pointless. I'll talk to Chie and Yosuke about it tomorrow, but right now I'm not going to be able to figure anything out until I get some sleep.'_ He mused, wrapping his blanket tightly around his chest before fading blissfully into darkness.

The half-ghost had only known happiness for a few moments before he found himself regaining consciousness reluctantly. He let out a exasperated groan as he pried his eyes open, glancing tiredly around and cursing his luck as he realized he was in the car again. He ran a hand over his face, blinking in confusion as he realized he was in his ghost form.

"Welcome...do not be alarmed. You are fast asleep in the real world...I have summoned you within your dreams." Igor stated calmly, though as Danny dropped his hand from his face he noted that the smile that had previously graced the older man's face had disappeared. "And so, we meet again."

Margaret spoke up where he left off, "This is a space that only those who have, in one way or another, entered into a contract may enter." She started, her voice the definition of professional, however she paused, a small frown crossing her face, "At some point in the last day, you subconsciously heard the call to awaken, and you chose to follow your destiny, however..." The woman trailed off, gazing towards her master worriedly.

Igor nodded solemnly, taking a deep breath before beginning again, "As Margaret has said, you have performed your role admirably so far, my boy, unfortunately it seems as if your power...that of your Persona rather than that of your ghost, is being suppressed."

The half-ghost gaped at the duo in shock, "My...Persona? W-what? You mean like Yosuke?" He asked, stumbling over his words slightly, confusion overtaking all else.

The old man nodded slowly, "Indeed, though the power you hold within yourself is much more than that. What you hold, or at least what you are meant to hold, is the Wild Card...compared to that of others, it is very special. It is like the number zero...empty, yet holding infinite potential within itself." He explained, before sighing, "However, as I have said, it seems that it is being suppressed."

Danny shook his head, confusion taking hold as he tried to process his words, "Wait...what do you mean by that? How is it being suppressed? What's doing it?"

Margaret shook her head as well, "We're not entirely sure, Mr. ...Phantom?" She said, arching a perfectly plucked eyebrow at his name, before continuing at his hesitant nod, "However, the master has several theories."

"Igor, my dear, we've discussed this." He chided gently, before turning back to Danny, "While Margaret is correct, I'm afraid that until we're able to uncover more, it would benefit us little to discuss most of my theories. Though I must ask...you have been hearing strange, disembodied voices, accompanied by headaches, yes?" At the teenager's nod he sighed, "I see...well that would be normal for your situation...though it doesn't help us to understand why you have failed to aquire your powers."

The half-ghost's eyes turned to the floor as his mind reviewed the, admittedly small, amount of knowledge he'd gained on the subject, before turning his gaze back to the pair in front of him, apprehension displayed across his face. "I...when Yosuke developed his Persona, it happened because he faced his true self and accepted it...right?" He asked nervously, waiting for their nods to continue, "Well...is it possible that my powers failed to develop because...I haven't accepted parts of me?"

Margaret's eyebrows shot into her hairline in shock of the revelation, though when she glanced at Igor she saw he him looking calmly on their guest, before shaking his head, "While that is a possibility, I do not believe it to be the case, Phantom. You see, when the holder of the Wild Card awakens, he, or she, is normally does so without facing their shadow. I am quite certain that there is another explanation as to why your Persona has been suppressed...though in theory, should you face your shadow and accept it, you could awaken your abilities that way."

Danny bit his lip hesitantly, unable to look his hosts in the eyes as he shook his head, "I...I don't think I can." He muttered, unable to dismiss the feeling of shame that passed over him at the admission.

The old man shook his head gently, "It is perfectly alright, my boy, you will not be judged while you are in this room. It is better to acknowledge your weakness than it is to tempt fate by rushing into a situation you know you are unprepared for. Regardless, even without your Persona, it seems many of your latent abilities remain active, hence your ability to enter the TV world on your own terms."

"While it seems the ma-, excuse me, Igor and I are unable to fulfill our original purpose, we are still capable of assisting you in fulfilling your destiny, as well as investigating the reasons behind your Persona's suppression."

Igor nodded in agreement, "Indeed. There is but one price for this assistance...you must abide by your contract, and assume responsibility for all decisions you make." He said solemnly, gazing firmly at the teenager. "Aside from that...it appears that among the latent abilities that have awakened in you is your ability to form Social Links. The Persona ability is the power to control one's own heart…and the heart is strengthened through bonds. As you form bonds by becoming involved with others, your own Social Links will gradually develop. While it is unlikely, there is a possibility that should you develop your links to a sufficient level, your Persona will be strengthened enough to awaken on its own."

"Regardless," Margaret interjected, "Social Links are necessary for more than strengthening your Persona. At times, they may help light the way to the truth you are searching for, so you should not neglect these bonds."

The half-ghost let out a small sigh, though he nodded in understanding, "Of course...of all the things I could have got, I had to get the super powers that require making friends and having social skills." He muttered sarcastically.

The old man grinned in acknowledgment, "I am confident in your abilities, young detective. However, I believe it is time for you to depart, once again. I look forward to traveling the road to your destiny together..." He trailed off, chuckling, "Until we meet again..."

Danny's eyes struggled to stay open for several seconds, however it only took a few moments longer before he lost the battle as he faded into unconsciousness before blinking out of existence. Margaret continued gazing at the spot he had occupied for several moments before turning to gaze at her master, "Master...what does this mean for us? Have you ever seen anything like this happen before?" She asked, maintaining her professional air, though he was able to hear the slight tremble of fear in her question.

Igor let out a tired sigh, crossing his fingers under his nose, the silence as he organized his thoughts brief but oppressive, "I am afraid, my dear, that I have not seen anything quite like this before. However, as usual, I have several ideas as to what the consequences could be." He muttered, before standing slowly, "At the moment, though, I have another appointment that I fear is of the utmost importance. Please...relax while I'm away, Margaret...I'm afraid we may be quite busy in the near future." He finished, before fading out of existence, much like Phantom before him.

* * *

Clockwork stared intensely at the wall of screens as they floated around him, letting out a resigned sigh as he watched his own destruction, the razing of the Earth, the conquering of the Ghost Zone, and the death of Daniel hundreds of times over. In contrast he observed that the instances of him surviving occurred twice, he saw the Earth survive completely intact seven times, he watched the Ghost Zone go untouched three times, while he could count the realities where Daniel survived, conquering his journey in Japan and defeating Dan without submitting to the darkness in his heart, on one hand.

"Hello, Igor." He greeted his guest tiredly, gazing at the screens for several more seconds before turning to face his friend.

"Greetings, old friend." The old man replied, his hands clasped behind his back. "I'm afraid to inform you that my meeting with young Daniel did now go the way we had hoped."

The ghost nodded in acceptance, "I am not surprised, Igor...though I must admit I am somewhat disappointed, as well as frustrated to be incapable of viewing the passage of time within your realms. I have gotten used to knowing how things unfold...I find it rather unsettling to be faced with so many possibilities while not knowing which one is to unfold."

Igor nodded solemnly, though he was unable to suppress the small grin at his friend's frustration, "I would have much preferred a different outcome to the meeting as well, Clockwork. Unfortunately we must play with the hand we have been dealt, if you will forgive the pun."

"I always do, don't I?" Clockwork replied, the poor joke managing to bring a smile to the ancient ghost's face despite how often he'd heard it.

The man chuckled, smiling brightly, before his solemn demeanor resurfaced, "At any rate, I'm afraid that while I value our time together, I do have pressing matters elsewhere, so we should get started right away."

"Of course, Igor." The ghost replied, waving his hand towards the table and chairs that had appeared in the middle of the room, "Sit, please...so, you've mentioned that the meeting did not go well, however you haven't said why yet."

"Indeed..." He said, letting out a tired sigh as he sank into one of the comfortable chairs, joined moments later by Clockwork across the table, "May I first say that I am most impressed by your agent, Clockwork. He is quite capable in his own right...he handled his first encounter with the Shadows admirably, and even managed to awaken another's Persona."

Clockwork nodded slowly, "I expected no less, Igor, you know as well as anyone that I do not tolerate failure among my wards."

"Quite so. Unfortunately, despite his admirable qualities, it appears as if there is something suppressing his true Persona, and therefore his abilities as the holder of the Wild Card. In short, whatever is stopping him from accessing his true self is crippling his ability to combat any large amount of Shadows on his own."

The ghost blinked twice, stunned by the revelation, before shaking his head in disappointment, "I see...this is worse than I feared. Is there a possibility that this has been brought about due to his autophobia or his susceptibility to Samaritan Syndrome?" He asked, worry clear in his tone.

Igor shook his head hesitantly, "He raised a similar possibility to me, however I do not believe it to be so. While, as I told him, it may be possible for him to awaken his Persona by facing his shadow or by pursuing his social links to the point that he accepts himself through them, I do not believe it is the root of the problem. I'm much more inclined to believe that there is another, unknown, factor that is preventing him from realizing his true potential."

Clockwork stroked his beard in thought for several moments as he considered the possible branches in the time line they could be experiences, before rising slowly and floating over to the screens. He waved a hand at the wall heavily, banishing over three-quarters of the view-screens, destroying both his chances of survival as well as the possibilities where the Ghost Zone went unconquered. "I'm afraid that this was not the way I wanted to narrow down the possibilities, Igor." He breathed quietly as his friend stepped quietly behind him.

The old man gazed sadly at the screens as he watched the boy he was quickly becoming fond of suffer unspeakable horrors time and time again, while his eyes managed to catch only three instances where he emerged victorious. "I understand, I wish-" He began, before pausing as an enraged howl echoed through the tower, the battered and scorched thermos it originated from trembling and bulging dangerously behind a ghost shield.

"You'll have to forgive me, my friend...he is getting more and more unruly by the day. I believe he knows that he will escape soon, and he wants to break free sooner, rather than later." Clockwork explained, motioning absently towards the weakening prison.

"Then that's the one that is causing Daniel so much duress?" The old man asked, cautiously eyeing the thermos as if it were a venomous animal.

"Indeed...I'm afraid he is quite a source of emotional baggage for him. Understandably so...the fool has personally brought about the apocalypse numerous times. Young Daniel would be a fool not to fear him."

Igor's gaze lingered on the prison for several more seconds before turning back to his friend, eyeing the screens portraying the catastrophe the monster they were speaking of so casually could and, most probably, would inflict upon their dimensions. "There are still quite a few possibilities left up there..."

"There are...however there are less and less favorable ones. Out of the three possibilities that he succeeds, only one of them would be ideal, both for him and the rest of the world...the other two depict a miserable and painful life for my ward. I would much prefer the first." The ghost explained heavily, before turning away from the screens again, offering a melancholy smile.

"That is, of course, where I come in, my friend. I will guide young Daniel along the path to the truth. We still have a good few months before the earliest possible release of your prisoner...that is plenty of time to shape the path of our ward." The old man said confidently, clasping his hands behind his back again as he stepped away from the ghost, "However as I said before, I'm afraid I must leave you now. I have yet another important meeting in the Velvet Room at the moment. Until next time, my friend."

Clockwork nodded in agreement, not bothering to turn away from the screens as Igor faded away from his tower, his face regaining its intensity as he focused his gaze on his last great hope for the half-ghost he had become attached to. "I pray that we will be able to guide you in the right direction, Daniel...if not, both for your sake, as well as the world's." He muttered quietly, staring unblinkingly as Daniel slumbered peacefully, clutching the dark haired girl in his arms protectively.


	6. The Green Eyed Monster

AN: Well, here we are again. We should be back to our regularly unscheduled update plan, which I'm sure is of no help to you. I'm not entirely sure I'm happy with the ending to this one and, while I said that I was going to have this chapter betaed, it seems like I can't get in contact with him and I feel like I need to get this one out. I hope it's worth the wait to you guys, and that the ending isn't as weak as I'm afraid it is. At any rate, thanks once again for reading the story, and if you'd like I'd love to hear your feedback in a review!

**The Green Eyed Monster  
**

The next day started with a rough morning for Danny as he was woke with a loud pounding on his door, followed by Nanako rushing in with concern written across her face, "Danny-kun you have to wake up! We're going to be late for school!" She cried, blissfully ignorant of her cousin's panicky and nearly violent reaction to the sudden jolt to the land of the living.

Danny blinked at her, breathing heavily even as his heart pounded in his chest, "W-what are you talking about, Nanako? It's Saturda-" He started, though he trailed off as he remembered where he was, his eyes widening in panic almost as much as hers, "Oh crap...we _do_ have school today!" He yelped, jumping out of bed, ignoring the slight pull against his injuries on his chest as he rushed around his room grabbing his uniform.

The half-ghost was already pulling his shirt on when he stopped, glancing back at Nanako who was staring at him in a mixture between amazement at his speed and confusion at the bandages wrapped around his chest, "Danny...why do you have so many band-aids?"

"Err..." He replied intelligently, before shaking the question out of his head, "I had an accident before I left my parents, it's already almost healed, Nanako. Uh...why don't you go ahead and wait downstairs, I promise I'll be down soon. I just need to finish getting dressed and grab my bag."

The little girl stared at him for a few seconds before nodding slowly, "Okay..." She replied quietly before going back downstairs to wait for him.

Danny joined his cousin just a few minutes later, looking slightly disheveled but otherwise ready for a normal day, "Alright, you ready to go, Nanako?" He asked hurriedly, glancing around the living room just to make sure he wasn't forgetting anything as he pulled his shoes on. At her silent nod he lead the way outside, locking the door once they were both out, and turned to make their way towards the flood plain, walking slightly faster than normal.

The half-ghost glanced awkwardly at Nanako as they walked, the heavy silence that seemed to be almost constant between them since he arrived in Inaba weighing heavily on him. "Hey, uh, Nanako..." He started hesitantly, drawing her confused attention to him, "I, um, I just wanted to say thanks for waking me up. I'm sorry that I didn't get up when I was supposed to. I'm just not used to going to school on Saturdays yet, I guess."

Danny relaxed slightly as Nanako cracked a small smile at his thanks, "It's alright." She answered, killing the awkwardness that had settled between them.

The two of them shared a small amount of small talk before she split off towards the elementary school, briefly leaving him to his thoughts before he heard a familiar voice shouting to him. "Yo!"

He glanced back over his shoulder as Yosuke slowed to a stop next to him with a smile, though it faltered as the brunette's eyes caught the bruise still spreading across Danny's face, "Ouch...hey, I'm really sorry about that..." He muttered, motioning to the offending mark.

"I told you not to worry about it, I'm used to it. Besides, even as ugly as it's gotten overnight, I figure it'll probably be mostly healed by the end of the day. Benefits of being part-ghost I guess." The half-ghost replied, waving off his worry, before his gaze hardened slightly, "More importantly, did you see what was on last night?"

Yosuke nodded slowly in answer, "Yeah...I couldn't tell who it was, but if someone's shown on the TV, we can't ignore it can we?" He asked, prompting the half-ghost to shake his head in agreement as he began leading the way towards the school again.

"No...you're right, we can't." Danny answered with a small sigh, "If you're serious about helping, then we should check it out after school. Teddie might be able to tell us something about it."

"Yeah, that makes sense. If it turns out someone was thrown in again, I guess that'd prove there really is someone behind this. Even if it is something about that place that's killing people...man, if someone's using that world as a weapon that's...that's unforgivable!" Yosuke stated, a look of disgust settling itself on his face at the thought of someone using the other world to kill people. "We've got to catch the culprit...whatever it takes! I mean...there's no way the police can do it, is there? Who'd believe that the murder is killing people by throwing them into a TV?"

The half-ghost nodded in reluctant agreement, "You're right...even if they would believe something like that, there's no way normal people would be able to deal with those shadows, we'll have to do it ourselves."

Yosuke chuckled, seemingly relieved at his acceptance, "Cool...it's good to hear someone else say it." He admitted before trailing off in thought for a few moments. "You know...I tried sticking my head in the TV last night, like you did, and it actually worked. I think I can do that now because I have a Persona...but it doesn't really explain why you can..."

Danny weighed his options for a few seconds before shrugging, "I'll admit, I really don't know much about this Persona stuff, Yosuke...but I think I might have a few of the latent abilities that you have...I'm not really sure why, but it seems like that's what's going on right now. In all honesty it's as much of a mystery to me as it is to you." He said, grimacing internally at the half-truth, but really he wasn't sure how to explain it past that without exposing more about himself than he was willing to admit right now.

The brunette stared at him strangely for a few seconds before shaking his head in confusion, "Hmm...maybe we got these 'gifts' from someone specifically so we could solve the case? Then again, you said you've had most of your powers for years now...so I don't know. But I feel like, as long as you're with me, we can find the culprit and crack the case."

The half-ghost felt a small smile tugging on his lips at his classmate's statement, unable to deny the fact that, for all his faults, Yosuke was a good guy who was stuck in a bad situation. _'Maybe...it wouldn't be so bad to have friends again? What exactly am I afraid of anyways? That they'll betray me? Abandon me like Tucker and Sam? You're going to be here for two years, Fenton...you may as well try and make the best of it.'_

Just as he had made up his mind a small flash erupted in front of Danny's eyes, blinding him for a few seconds, though it seemed that his newfound friend was entirely unaware of it, even as a calm voice echoed within his head, thankfully devoid of the splitting headache that had accompanied it last time.

"_Thou art I...and I am Thou...Thou hast established a new bond. It brings you closer to the truth...should thou awaken the power within, thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Magician Arcana."_

Danny blinked in amazement as the voice faded to silence, staring at Yosuke for a few seconds before the teen noticed and raised an eyebrow, "Uh...are you alright?"

"I...umm...yeah, I'm fine. Just had a weird...thought."

The brunette raised a skeptical eyebrow, "...Are you sure, dude?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Come on, if we don't hurry up we're going to be late."

* * *

It turned out to be a wise decision on the boys' part to pick up the pace as, within minutes of walking through the door and switching out their shoes at their lockers, it had started pouring outside, "Does it always rain this much here?" Danny asked incredulously as he stared out the window.

Yosuke shrugged, "I guess so. It was like this last year too, so I think it's normal here."

The half-ghost sighed in disappointment before shrugging, opening his mouth to reply before quickly snapping it closed again as Chie ran into the room, looking slightly worried. He thought about apologizing to her, before deciding to leave it to Yosuke for now, she was _his_ friend after all.

"Uh...Chie! Umm, about yesterday...we're sorry we worried yo-"

Chie shook her head, as she glanced around the room distractedly, "Oh, never mind about that. Is Yukiko still not here?"

Danny blinked at the question, a small pit forming in his stomach as a dark thought occurred to him, though it appeared Yosuke remained ignorant of his new friend's worries as he gaped in amazement at the girl. "Huh? Y-Yukiko-san? Uh...no...? At least I haven't seen her today."

"Oh man...what should I do?" The girl muttered to herself, before turning her gaze sharply back to the other brunette. "Hey, is that stuff you were talking about for real? You know...all that about how people showing up on the Midnight Channel is related to that other world." She asked, biting her lip nervously.

"Oh, we were just talking about that. We're thinking about checking it out later-"

"The person on TV yesterday…I think it was Yukiko. That kimono looks like the one she wears at the inn, a-and she wore it during the interview a few days ago too. I got worried, so I emailed her last night, but she hasn't responded…I called her earlier in the evening, though, and she said she'd be at school today…I-I…" Chie interrupted, stumbling over her words slightly, before trailing off with a frightened look.

The half-ghost felt his stomach turn as he heard his previous thoughts echoed by her, before letting out a deep breath, "Alright, hey, calm down, Chie. We understand...have you heard from her at all today?" He asked carefully, grimacing as she shook her head.

"No..."

He sighed, running a hand down his face as his two classmates stared at him. "Alright...well, in that case we need to talk. You need to know what happened yesterday..." He started slowly, before giving a slightly watered down explanation of their trip into the TV, only lightly touching on Yosuke's confrontation with himself and his own demonstration of his powers.

As he finished up he realized Chie was staring at him, unblinkingly, her face a mixture between horror and rage as she put the pieces together in her head, "Y-you mean...are you really saying that Yukiko was thrown in there?!"

Yosuke shook his head quickly, "N-no...I mean, we don't know for sure yet. We should make sure she's safe first. Try and give her another call."

The girl nodded, quickly pulling out her phone and dialing her friend's number, only to let out a frustrated groan a few seconds later. "No good...her voice mail picked up, she's not answering." She said, panic starting to edge its way into her voice.

The other brunette's eyes widened in shock, "Are you serious!? Then is Yukiko inside that place?"

"Jus-S-Stop it! Something must've come up, like an errand or something…Oh, or she might be helping at the inn… She wouldn't be able to answer her cell if that's it." She reasoned desperately, even as Yosuke eyed her skeptically.

"But...would she skip school for something like that?"

"I...don't know. But, I'll give the inn a call. Umm...I know I've got the number in here somewhere..." She muttered worriedly as she flipped through the phone's address book, immediately calling the number when she found it. She fidgeted for a few moments as it rang. Her eyes lit up hopefully as the other side picked up and they saw her face relax as she realized she was talking to her friend. She only talked for a minute before hanging up with a relieved sigh.

"She was at the inn." She explained, blinking as she seemed to realize how obvious that was before continuing, "She said they had a big group reservation and she had to help out. Yeah…now that I think about it, this has happened before, too. At least once a year. She said she'll be at the inn tomorrow, too. Oh, for crying out loud, Yosuke! You got me worried over nothing! She was totally fine! And you were all 'Is Yukiko-san inside that place…?' Hmph…"

Danny held his hands up placatingly, "Hey, calm down. We're sorry, but we aren't trying to get you worked up all over nothing, there's a reason we thought that."

Chie's head swiveled to Danny, her glare slightly less intense, but no less demanding, "Oh yeah...? And what's that?"

He hesitated slightly at her tone before shaking his head and continuing his explanation. "We thought that whoever shows up on the midnight channel is there because they're already in that other world."

Yosuke nodded in agreement, "Yeah! I mean...people show up on the TV because they're in the TV, makes sense right? But Yukiko-san's still here, in our world. Maybe we should go talk to that bear again...see what this is about." He said, hesitating slightly as he finished.

The half-ghost nodded "Yeah...we should. If nothing else he might be able to tell us if anybody's been over there since we left."

With that the other two agreed, deciding to meet up in the electronics section of Junes once school let out for the day.

* * *

School passed uneventfully for Danny and before he knew it he was dodging out of Mr. Morooka's room as soon as the bell rang, ignoring his classmates' calls for his attention, something that was quickly becoming normal for him seeing as how the teenagers from the small town seemed to view him as something of a curiosity.

'_Heh...they don't know the half of it, and if they did they probably wouldn't be so keen on trying to make friends with me.'_ The half-ghost rolled his eyes at the thought as he quickly changed his shoes out at his locker before pushing his way out the front door.

He quickly made his way to Junes, grimacing slightly as he saw that his classmates had beat him there and Yosuke was filling Chie in on the events of last night in greater detail, though he seemed grateful to stop when he walked up. "O-okay, I think that's enough about my sorry my sorry escapades." He muttered quietly, though he quickly covered up his discomfort with a small smile.

Chie shook her head in amazement as they made their way to the electronics. "Geez...if I hadn't seen the place first hand, I'd never have believed a story like that."

Danny nodded, "Exactly...pretty much the only reason I didn't tell my uncle about it. Well...that and the fact that I'm not really a fan of the idea of becoming somebody's lab rat." He muttered darkly, prompting a slightly awkward silence as his classmates blinked at him in surprise.

"W-well anyways..."Yosuke coughed awkwardly, finally pushing forward. "We need to know what's going on inside-"

"Wh-how?" Chie interrupted incredulously, "By talking to that Teddie guy?"

The brunette nodded as they finally stopped in front of the TV they had went into the last two times. "Yeah. Too bad there's so many customers around...I forgot there was a sale in electronics today."

The half-ghost shrugged nonchalantly. "No big deal, you two just make a wall and I'll turn invisible and try to get his attention." He said, ignoring the bewildered stare of his companions as he moved towards the TV.

"Turn invisible?" Chie asked incredulously, despite his earlier explanation of his powers.

He glanced back at her, fighting the urge to roll his eyes at her skepticism. "Yeah...look, just come on and form a wall so nobody sees me disappear, okay? We need to do this quick so nobody starts to think anything weird is going on over here." He replied easily, prompting her to raise a skeptical eyebrow towards Yosuke who just shrugged in return, quickly taking a place beside his new friend while Chie reluctantly done the same on the opposite side, blocking him from outside view.

Danny looked back one last time to make sure nobody else could see him, before letting the familiar chill of invisibility wash over him. He let out a small sigh of annoyance when Chie squeaked in surprise before gently pushing his hand through the screen and letting the invisibility lapse on it.

"Hey, Teddie, if you can hear me come over here!" He whispered hastily towards the screen while beckoning the bear towards him with his finger.

'_Maybe he's not at the entrance or can't hear me...we might have to actually go in to-'_ He thought briefly, only to have his thought interrupted as he felt teeth bite down on his hand.

"Ouch! Ah, god damn it!" He muttered quietly, his invisibility lapsing as he quickly pulled his hand out of the screen, his eyes narrowing at the bite mark.

"Wh-what's wrong?!" Yosuke blurted out nervously, shifting from side to side trying to see what had happened.

Chie's eyes widened in fear as she glanced around in panic before turning a glare back on the other brunette, "Shh! Not so loud you idiot!" She muttered before turning back to Danny her eyes widening again as she saw the mark, "D-dude! Is that a bite mark? Are you okay?"

Danny nodded irritatedly as he flexed his hand open and closed a few times, "Yeah, I'm fine, surprised me more than anything."

"That's good...sheesh, that stupid bear must've done it." She muttered, shaking her head, "Hey, you! We know you're in there!"

There was a brief moment of silence before the screen rippled gently and Teddie's muffled voice rang out from behind it. "Ooh ooh, Is this a game?" He asked excitedly.

Yosuke rolled his eyes in annoyance as he shook his head, "No it's not a game! Can you sense anyone in there right now?"

There was a short pause before Teddie answered, "Who's 'anyone'? I'm a lonely little bear like always." He replied, prompting a relieved sigh from Yosuke, though that quickly died as he continued, his voice laden with anticipation, "This land is so bear-en..."

Danny blinked, staring stupidly at the screen for several seconds as a heavy silence weighed upon the group until Chie shook her head angrily, "Shut it!" She growled, "So you're sure there's no one inside?"

"I-I'm not lying!" He replied timidly, "My nose is running as good as ever!"

Chie let out a worried groan, turning to the boys once Danny dismissed the bear, "I...I think I'll go warn Yukiko anyway. She said she'll be busy helping out at the inn this weekend, so I doubt she'd go anywhere alone, but still..." She muttered, trailing off uncomfortably.

The boys nodded in agreement, "Yeah...probably a good idea. You'll walk to school with her Monday, right?"

"Sure, I'll go pick her up from her house." She replied, nodding at Yosuke's suggestion before hurriedly leaving the shopping center, leaving the boys alone.

Danny sighed tiredly, "Well...let's watch the midnight channel again tonight, just in case. With any luck nothing will happen and we can forget about this."

"Yeah, what's your cell number? I'll call you when I watch it tonight." Yosuke asked as he fished his phone out of his pocket, the two of them quickly punched each other's numbers into the other's phone book before turning to leave the store, the two of them splitting up in different directions at the entrance. "Alright, don't forget to watch tonight, man."

"Don't worry, I'm not going to forget, Yosuke. Make sure you get some sleep tonight, if something does show up tonight we're going to be busy tomorrow."

* * *

Rain pattered heavily against the roof as Danny stood in front of his TV, the only sound in the room aside from the rain being the quiet ticking of the clock hanging on the wall by the door. The half-ghost took a steadying breath as the last second before midnight ticked away accompanied by a crackle of static as the TV flared to life, featuring a crystal clear image of Yukiko, clad in a pink ball gown and clutching a microphone excitedly as she stood in a castle courtyard. "Good evening! Tonight, Princess Yukiko has a big surprise! I'm gonna go score myself a hot stud! Welcome to not a dream, not a hoax, 'Princess Yukiko's Hunt for Her Prince Charming!' And I came prepared!"

Danny's eyes widened in shock as he watched the previously shy girl eagerly thrust her hand to the junction between her legs, bending over to allow whoever was watching an eye-full of cleavage. Despite the fact that he was alone in the room he couldn't help but glance over his shoulder warily, half afraid that Dojima or Nanako was going to walk into the room at any second. "I've got my lacy unmentionables on, stacked from top to bottom! I'm out to catch a whole harem, and the best of the lot is going to be all mine! Well...here I go!" The girl exclaimed as she turned and ran towards the swirling entrance of the castle, her voice and movements exuding a bubbly personality he hadn't seen previously.

He shook his head dismissively at the thought,_'Yeah...somehow I doubt she'd appreciate the fact that I found out about it like this...Jesus, that was practically the set up for a freaking porno. On the other hand, I guess this settles it that she's actually in the TV world though, or at least probably will be. She doesn't seem the type to pull this kind of stunt willingly.'_ He reflected, though before he could think any more on it his phone rang, the short tune Tucker had thought up when they were still friends was silenced quickly as he accepted the call. "I'm here."

"H-hey, did you see that!?" Yosuke asked shakily from the other side of the line.

"Yeah...I did. It was definitely Yukiko..." Danny replied, sighing heavily as he trailed off.

"Yeah! I mean, she even said her name, but...didn't the stuff she was saying sound weird?!"

The half-ghost raised an eyebrow at the brunette's understatement, "I guess that's one way to put it."

"She looked like she was on some kind of low-budget TV show too...man, what the hell's going on here?"

'_Cheap TV show? What the hell is he talking about? There was a castle! I mean come on-damn it, now's not the time for this, Phantom, you need to pay attention to what you're talking about!'_

He shook his head violently, quickly dispelling the thought from his mind, "If you say so...hey, look do you have her number?"

"What?"

Danny sighed in irritation, "Yukiko! Do you have her number? If you do, then you need to call her, make sure she's alright."

"Oh, right! I uh...I don't have it, but I can just call Chie! Hey, I'll do that now, but tomorrow's Sunday, let's meet up at Junes, first thing in the morning."

"Alright, sounds good. Make sure you're ready to go into the TV if we need to, okay?"

"Yeah...I'll be ready. Alright, I'm gonna call Chie now, talk to you tomorrow, man."

The half-ghost shook his head as he hung up the phone. _'I really, really wish I could say I believed this was just some misunderstanding, but somehow I doubt that's the case.'_ He mused tiredly, sitting down heavily on the couch and picking his laptop up off the coffee table in front of him, a small smile spreading across his face as a familiar ping alerted him to the fact he'd received a message.

_Brother's Keeper: Hey, Little Brother, how's the first week in Japan going?_

Danny stared at the message for several seconds, the smile fading slightly, before starting to type his reply, he paused once or twice, deleting the entire thing once, before finally finishing it and sending it.

_GhostBoy96: Well...I guess it's okay. Uncle Dojima's not home often, since he's a detective, and Nanako's a little awkward, but other than that it's okay there...but there's been two murders since I got here. The first was the day after I got here and the other was a girl in the year above me. I think I've gotten involved with it...somehow, it's really weird and hard to explain, but I don't think I'm in any more danger than I was back home...probably._

Jazz seemed to not know how to respond to that, as there were a few minutes of nothing happening before the little pencil at the bottom of the chat-box started moving back and forth, indicating it was deleting several times before the next incoming message tone pinged again.

_Brother's Keeper: MURDERS? What do you mean you don't think you're in danger!? Are you okay?!_

He felt a small flare of warmth in his chest, the smile that was previously on his face tugging at his lips once again, despite the topic of the conversation, it was nice to know _somebody_ was concerned about his well-being. _'Mom and Dad love me, I know that...but they're just...well, their minds don't really process things the same way as a normal person's...to them, fighting ghosts is a normal every day thing. I don't think they ever really thought about how wrong those fights can go if you're not paying attention and the ghosts actually have something against you.'_ He thought, though he quickly shook the wandering thoughts from his head to reply to his sister's waiting message.

_GhostBoy96: It's okay, Jazz...it's not anybody I know...okay, that sounds bad, but I mean, I don't know what exactly is going on yet, but it's not a normal murderer. It's something only people like me can deal with. We think the victims are being thrown in a TV or something...there's a TV world on the other side of the screen where there are shadows that kill them once it gets foggy in this world. But I'm able to fight them with my powers...it doesn't seem like they can get out either, so it's not a ghost zone situation...I think._

_Brother's Keeper: Wait, what do you mean a world inside the TV? Did you ever deal with anything like that over here? And what do you mean WE?_

Danny flinched as his eyes flicked back to his own message and realized he had admitted to working with other people, he should have expected her to catch that, after all he knew who he was talking to.

_GhostBoy96: It's...complicated, and it's really hard to explain any better than I already have, at least the TV part of it. I haven't ever dealt with it in Amity before, I don't think it has anything to do with ghosts...exactly, they feel different to my Ghost Sense._

_Brother's Keeper: Okay...what about the we part?_

The half-ghost let out a half-annoyed groan at her prodding, despite being grateful for it only minutes earlier, before typing out a simplified explanation for her.

_GhostBoy96: Well...look, it's hard to explain how we got in there, but a classmate and I were in the TV and had to fight some shadows, and he found out about my ghost half...I basically gave him and the other one a watered down version of the ghost portal story and what I do there. I don't think they're about to say anything to anybody, especially with what's going on right now, and the fact that I'm living with a detective. Who would believe them? Besides nobody here knows who Phantom is, so I'm alright._

_Brother's Keeper: ...Alright. I'm sorry for snapping at you Danny, I'm just worried about you. But you know what you're doing. Just...please be careful, okay?_

The smile returned to his face again as he read her reply, quickly responding with an attempt to change the subject.

_GhostBoy96: Yeah, I will be. Don't worry, Jazz, it'll be fine. Anyways, how are things going at home? Are Mom and Dad okay? Any problems with ghosts showing up since I'm gone?_

_Brother's Keeper: It's going okay, Mom and Dad are good, they're back to working in the lab, I think they're working on an early warning system or something like that, Valerie says she hasn't seen any ghosts aside from the occasional ectopus, and you said those aren't really intelligent ghosts anyways, right?_

He nodded to himself, unsurprised at the answer. It was really hard to keep ghosts like that from popping up, since they were just concentrations of nervous energy. They were hardly even considered ghosts, more like a sort of semi-intelligent creature that naturally formed in the ghost zone and anywhere with sufficient paranormal activity.

_GhostBoy96: Yeah, I'm not surprised about those. They're normal for Amity Park, especially since the Portal opened. At least the self-aware ghosts are honoring the deal though...makes me feel a little less guilty about abandoning you guys to come over here._

_Brother's Keeper: You didn't abandon us, little brother...you have a job to do there, and from what you said earlier, it sounds like it's just as important as what you were doing here. Besides, like you said, the ghosts are honoring your treaty and even if you don't want to admit it, you were going crazy over here with nothing to do._

The half-ghost glared at the screen as if it had betrayed him, shaking his head in denial at Jazz's message, though he instantly regretted his reply, as the argument sounded weak, even to him.

_GhostBoy96: No I wasn't! I had plenty to do there! When I wasn't studying for school or in the lab helping Mom work on new inventions I could read or build models._

_Brother's Keeper: You only done those things because you weren't hunting ghosts. Face it, Danny, whether I like it or not, you're addicted to danger. Sure, you started protecting people because it was the right thing to do, but you wouldn't have ever kept doing it if you didn't have both a hero complex and an adrenaline addiction._

_GhostBoy96: That's not true! And even if it was, then it wouldn't matter, because if I didn't protect them then nobody else would. I guarantee you that, as much as I like Val, she's not going to bother fighting petty criminals, is she? The cops can't be everywhere, Jazz._

Danny could practically hear Jazz laughing at him as he glowered at the screen, knowing her rebuttal was coming and, despite his frustration, he knew she was right.

_Brother's Keeper: I didn't say you weren't needed, little brother, I'm just saying you don't WANT to quit doing what you're doing. Tell me you weren't jittery from not being able to use your powers before your fight over there, and I'll tell you you're lying. It's not necessarily a bad thing, Danny. You're good at what you do...and if you really want to I'm sure you can find a way to get paid to do it full time. I mean, look at the Titans, they don't do anything but be heroes all day and they get paid for it, I'm sure you could do something like that too. And if not, you could always bill yourself as an occult investigator or something, go in and fight ghosts and monsters or something, like that devil boy comic you read when you were little._

He rolled his eyes at the typical Jazz answer, though he admitted she was right about possibly being able to make something of himself in the hero business, it'd been a long time since his dreams of becoming an astronaut were feasible, and he had special abilities that nobody else did. It was only logical to use them to help others, and if he went that route then he'd be helping himself in the process. Still, he could hardly admit that to her.

_GhostBoy96: It's Hellboy, Jazz, not 'Devil Boy'. And the Titans are largely recognized by the Justice League, as well as the government, it's kind of hard to get that attention in a way that won't reflect badly on me. Besides, I've got...well, we've all got more immediate concerns right now. Once we get past that, THEN I'll think more about what I'm going to do with my life, but right now I already think about my future way too much._

_Brother's Keeper: Danny..._

_GhostBoy96: It's fine, Jazz, like I said, it'll be fine, I'm sorry for bringing it up and killing the mood. Anyways, I need to get to bed, I've got a busy day tomorrow...pretty sure I'm going to have to fight a lot of shadows._

_Brother's Keeper: Well...alright. Just remember, I'm here if you need me. And make sure you tell me if you need anything...that goes for Mom and Dad too, we can't help you if you won't let us._

Danny shrugged, almost ready to dismiss her offer when the memory of how effective his ectoblasts were against their enemies flashed in his mind. _'Maybe they're vulnerable to ectoplasm? If they are then at least some of Mom and Dad's inventions might be useful...'_ He quickly relayed the thought to Jazz.

_Brother's Keeper: Well...we might be able to help you. The ectoplasm Mom and Dad use in their inventions isn't really all that volatile on its own, and I'm pretty sure nobody would question it, it's not really hazardous material except in large quantities._

_GhostBoy96: Well look at you, talking all sciencey and stuff. You'd almost believe you were a couple of inventors' daughter or something._

_Brother's Keeper: Shut it, Danny, besides the same could be said of you. You have a really good 'clueless moron' act going on a lot of the time. At least I hope you're acting, I'd be really disappointed if all the smart things you've said the last couple years were just flukes._

_GhostBoy96: Gee...thanks for the vote of confidence._

_Brother's Keeper: You were asking for it. Anyways, I think I might be able to convince Mom and Dad to ship you some basic materials they use for their inventions, you'll probably have to get the non-ghost related materials you need yourself though. International shipping is expensive, it'll take a couple weeks too, so until then you're probably on your own, little brother._

The half-ghost grinned, nodding his head to himself excitedly. Even with all of the stuff that was going on, being able to sit down and reinvent some of the better Fenton weapons would be nice. Though with inventions and combat on his mind he made another, less niche, but still important revelation.

_GhostBoy96: On the topic of shipping stuff, doing you think you might be able to convince them to send some basic medical supplies too? I don't know everything that's going to happen over here, but it would be nice to have emergency supplies here, just in case._

_Brother's Keeper: Yeah, I can probably get them to do that, though it'd probably have to be a different shipment, don't want them getting contaminated by the ectoplasm, if the container breaks._

_GhostBoy96: Awesome...thanks, Jazz, I really appreciate it._

_Brother's Keeper: No problem, little brother. I'll talk to them about it. But I need to get going if I'm going to get to class in time, and you need to get to bed if you're going to be busy tomorrow._

_GhostBoy96: Alright...I'll talk to you later, Jazz._

With that Danny exited out of Skype and glanced at the time before he shut the laptop down and closed the shell, setting it back on the table and heading to the futon. _'One-thirty...not too bad, I guess, but I do need to get to sleep if I'm going to be there tomorrow morning. Here's to hoping it's a good day.'_ He thought, somewhat skeptically, as he curled up under the blankets and let sleep take hold over him.

* * *

Danny stifled a yawn as he shuffled down the stairs, though he perked up as he heard the TV relaying the news. Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs he glanced curiously into the living room and was somewhat surprised to see his cousin sitting wide-awake at the short table in front of the television. The half-ghost shook his head as he plodded into the kitchen and fixed himself some toast before making his way to the table, looking at Nanako with a small amount of concern. "Hey, Nanako. How're you doing?"

The girl jumped slightly at her name before turning to face him, apparently not having heard him moving around the kitchen earlier, "Oh, good morning. I'm okay I guess." She replied simply with a shrug, before eyeing the toast in his hands with surprise, "You're really quiet when you want to be huh?"

He blinked awkwardly for a moment, glancing at the toast he was holding before shrugging, "I...guess." He muttered in reply, before shaking his head and continuing, "Say, where's your Dad? I didn't expect you to be up so early."

"He woke up early today, so I woke up with him. He said he's gonna be late."

Danny nodded in understanding before silently offering her a piece of toast, which she declined with an equally silent shake of her head, to which he shrugged and began munching on one of the pieces absently while his thoughts drifted off slightly. _'I...really have to get going. I promised Yosuke I'd meet him at Junes this morning, and with what we saw last night we don't really have any time to lose. But if I leave now then she'll be stuck watching the house all alone. Man, I hate to leave her here like that but...well, it seems like it's pretty normal to her.'_

"Are you going somewhere? I'll be fine by myself." The half-ghost's eyes refocused, snapping back to his cousin as he realized he'd been standing there silently for a while. Before he managed to find words to reply to her, the weather forecaster announced that it was expected to be a great day outside and she started to push herself up off the floor. "Oh, the sun's gonna come out. I should do some laundry." She stated plainly, before glancing at him curiously, "Uh...weren't you gonna go somewhere?"

"I...uh...yeah." He muttered quietly, starting to leave before quickly stopping by the kitchen counter and grabbing a pen and a pad of paper. "Hey, Nanako, come over here for a second, will you?"

The girl complied, confusion written on her face as he jotted something down on the paper, "This is my phone number. If something happens, or any...strange people show up, especially an old guy with gray hair in a ponytail, call me immediately, okay?" He said seriously, gently looking her in the eye as he handed her the paper.

Nanako glanced at the note for a few seconds before nodding slowly, "Okay..."

Danny forced a small smile onto his face before heading towards the door, stopping to put his 'good' shoes on before stepping outside. _'I...I really hate to do that. I always hated being left alone by Mom and Dad when I was her age...but this is important. I probably won't be able to get her call if I'm already in the TV world, but at least I can have the message when I get out. Hopefully nothing will happen, but it never hurts to be prepared for the worst.'_ He thought darkly, images of ghosts that had managed to somehow escape under his parents' noses showing up in Inaba flashing through his mind as he ducked into an alley and transformed. Thankfully the menacing scenarios were easily flushed from his thoughts as he took off and let himself enjoy his freedom from gravity's laws.

The half-ghost was somewhat disappointed when he found himself flying over the shopping center, letting out a small sigh as he touched down in an alley across the street and released his ghost half before making his way to the food court to wait for his new friend. He had only been there long enough to find a table to sit down at when Yosuke hurried in, excitement clear on his face as he stopped in front of him with a large bag in his hand. "Hey! Sorry for the hold-up. Guess what? I found something we can use in the closet at home. Take a look at these!"

Yosuke dropped the bag on the ground and opened it, pulling out both a katana and what seemed to be a shorter version of the sword. He held them both in front of him proudly, apparently unaware of the unwanted attention he was drawing to himself. "We've got our Personas, or I do anyways, and you've got your powers, but a golf club's not all that great of a weapon. So, which one strikes your fancy?"

Danny stared up at the brunette critically for several seconds before shaking his head disbelievingly, "Neither. Yosuke, I don't _need_ a weapon, or have you forgotten how things went the other day? Anyways, you need to put those things away!"

"What? I...well, I guess you're right, you're pretty much a weapon yourself...even if you do dress weird." The brunette replied, smirking as the half-ghost glanced down at his clothes somewhat self-consciously before shrugging, "As for me...wait, maybe both would be good, too." He said, jumping into the air and striking a pose with the katana raised over his head and the knife in front of him, "K-kinda like this?"

"Dude, seriously, you need to quit this, you're gonna get us in trouble." Danny sighed tiredly, finally standing up to take the blades from him since he continued waving them around wildly.

Before he could calm him down however, he was interrupted by the sound of somebody keying a radio. "Two suspicious young males found, one armed with multiple weapons. Requesting immediate backup." Both boys' heads snapped towards the voice, only to see a police officer making his way towards them nervously.

Yosuke stared at the officer in surprise, "Huh? Oh crap! I mean, no...no no no no no! This isn't what it looks like. We didn't steal it...uh, I guess that's not what matters...a-anyways, we're not doing anything bad! We're just two ordinary kids who like weapons and...ugh, that didn't sound right either." He shouted, laughing nervously as he trailed off.

"Put the weapons down now! We'll listen to your story at the station." The officer replied, holding his hand up and pointing towards Danny as well, "Hands up where I can see them too! I said now!"

The brunette shook his head violently, holding his hands in front of them and waving them, without bothering to drop the weapons, prompting the officer to grab his tazer off his belt and point it at him, "Are you resisting an officer of the law!? Y-you're under arrest!" he cried, obviously terrified of the teenager.

Danny groaned, palming his face in frustration as Yosuke finally dropped the weapons, allowing the officer to handcuff him while two more showed up as backup and cuffed Danny as well, leading them to the first officer's car and shoving them into the back seat. Silence reigned for several moments as the half-ghost stared at Yosuke before finally shaking his head. "Just so you know...you're an idiot, Yosuke." He muttered quietly before leaning his head against the back of the seat and staring up at the roof of the car.

* * *

Three hours later the two boys stood quietly in Dojima's office, they had been lucky enough that the detective had caught them coming in and said he'd take care of them since it was his nephew, before he led them to his office and began ripping into them. The half-ghost's uncle fixed him with a disappointed stare as he began winding down his lecture, leading them to the door of his office. "You didn't seem the type to pull a stupid stunt like this." He growled, stepping through the door.

Danny winced at the accusation and took a deep breath, swallowing his pride as he looked back up at his uncle, the six-foot man towering over the relatively short teenager. "I...I'm sorry, Uncle Dojima. It shouldn't have happened in the first place...but I can promise it won't happen again." He replied seriously, shooting a meaningful glare at Yosuke, who'd had his weapons confiscated. _'We're lucky that's all that happened. If it wasn't for me being related to a detective, who knows how this would've turned out? Especially for me...'._

Dojima sighed deeply, shaking his head and looked away quietly for a moment, as another detective and a patrol man passed them in the hall. "Wait, so the one that disappeared is the Amagi girl?"

"Seems like it...but she's just a highschooler, you know how they are. Might be that she just decided to run away from home..."

The half-ghost perked up slightly at that, his head swiveling towards the two officers, as Yosuke's eyes widened in surprise at the news. "Hey...did he say Amagi?" He whispered disbelievingly, "Then...she really is..."

His uncle glanced back at them distractedly, "Hmm? Who's that now?"

The brunette stumbled over himself slightly for a moment before shaking his head, "Oh, uh, nothing..."

"I'm sure you've seen on the news that there's an investigation in progress…we're sensitive about certain things." The detective explained pausing for a moment as he stared at them meaningfully before sighing again and shaking his head, "You're free to go. But this better not happen again."

Both of the boys nodded quickly before hurrying down the hall as soon as Dojima waved them away. Despite what had happened, and Danny's frustration at his friend, his mind was focused entirely on what he'd heard from the officers before, to the point that he almost didn't see the detective that had thrown up at the first crime scene until he was about to run into him. The half-ghost's eyes widened as finally saw him, throwing himself backwards in surprise, thankfully avoiding falling down in the process.

"Woah...pardon me." The dark-haired detective apologized, staring at him in amazement before a small flash of recognition lit his eyes, "Hey, aren't you the kid staying at Dojima-san's place?"

Danny's eyes narrowed slightly at his tone, though he nodded reluctantly, "Yeah, he's my uncle."

The young detective nodded, "Yeah, I think I remember him saying something like that. You're from America, right?"

He nodded again, though before he could reply any other way Yosuke butted himself into the conversation. "Oh! Uh, can we ask you something? It's about Yukiko-san...I mean, Yukiko Amagi of the Amagi Inn...did something happen to her?" He asked, trailing off as he realized the two of them were staring at him.

The detective looked somewhat uncomfortable for a moment, muttering to himself before sighing and starting hesitantly. "Well, if you're friends with Ms. Amagi…keep this between us, okay? We got a call from Ms. Amagi's parents yesterday evening saying they couldn't find her anywhere. Since it was the weekend, the workers at the inn were extremely busy, and no one saw Ms. Amagi around that time. Oh, but that doesn't necessarily mean this is a case just yet!" He exclaimed, before continuing quietly, seemingly unsure again, "But, people've been turning up dead on foggy days…so we're really sensitive to stuff like this. By the way, did she say anything to you guys about maybe going through some hard times?"

"Uh...? Hard times?"

"Well, that announcer, Ms. Yamano, was staying at the Amagi Inn before the first murder. Seems Ms. Yamano had some harsh words for the manager about the staff's attitude towards guests. The stress of it caused the manager to collapse. And with Ms. Amagi being the manager's daughter…she must've felt pretty strongly about the incident, y'know. By the way, did Ms. Amagi ever hint that she might be leaving the house? 'Cause if not, there's been some theories floating around that she's laying low for some reason or another…" He trailed off quietly, before remembering who he was talking to, "Crap, I think I've gone too far. You didn't hear that, okay?" He asked pleadingly, though before either of them could answer Dojima's voice rang out in the hallway.

"Adachi, what the hell are you chatting with civvies for!? And where's my coffee!?"

"S-sorry! I got it right here!" The younger detective replied quickly before glancing back to the teenagers. "Psst! forget I said anything! Please!" He finished, before rushing towards Dojima, leaving them alone to make their way back to the lobby.

As the pair of them reached the reception desk Yosuke slowed to a stop and shook his head, turning towards Danny, "Hey...do you think that detective thinks Yukiko..." He started, though before he could finish his sentence he was interrupted by a familiar shout.

"There you are!" Both the boys jumped, turning to face Chie as she stalked towards them from the entrance, "Sheesh, what're you guys doing here?! I've been looking for you everywhere!"

"Uh, well, there was a slight misunderstanding...we'll tell you about it later." Yosuke muttered, flinching as Danny's previous glare returned in full force, "Anyways, something's up with Yukiko-san!"

Chie's glare faltered as she looked at them in shock, "Huh? You know already?! I kept trying to call her cell, but she didn't pick up. So I went to her house, and it turns out she really did disappear!"

The half-ghost nodded solemnly, "That's what I was afraid of when I saw it last night...it looks like we're going back in after all." He muttered with a sigh, much to his friend's agreement.

"But that aside, the cops are saying some weird stuff. They think Yukiko-san's hiding to 'lay low'…apparently, Yukiko-san's mom collapsed because that announcer's lady bitched her out. They think that gives her a motive, and the fact that the announcer died right after makes her even more suspicious…" The brunette explained, though from the look of outrage on Chie's face it seemed it may have been a mistake.

"What!? They think Yukiko did it!? What the hell's wrong with them!?"

"Dude, don't snap at me! Yukiko's the victim here, not the suspect!" Yosuke retorted, glaring back at her.

Danny pushed himself between the two of them, shoving them away from each other with a glare, "Both of you calm down! If you're going to fight then I'm just going to leave you here and go after Yukiko alone. There's no telling what she's dealing with right now, and she needs to be saved, not to have you two snarling at each other's throats and wasting whatever time we've got!"

The two classmates stared at him in shock for a few seconds before backing down, both of them looking somewhat guiltily at the floor. Chie was the first to recover as she looked back up at him with determination set on her face. "R-right! The important thing right now is saving Yukiko!"

Yosuke nodded in agreement, though his voice was somewhat subdued, "With the police totally on the wrong track, it looks like we're gonna have to handle it ourselves."

The half-ghost nodded as well, even as he started to lead them out of the station, though he didn't quite have a clear destination in mind yet. "Yeah, it looks that way. But we knew we'd have to deal with the other world ourselves anyways, so nothing's changed there."

"I'm going too!" Chie stated suddenly, causing both the boys to turn to her in surprise, though it seemed she took that for disagreement, as she continued, "And that's final! I'm going to save Yukiko, no matter what!"

"Are you gonna be alright?" Yosuke asked, eyeing her doubtfully before his shoulders sagged as he seemed to remember something, "But man...they just confiscated our weapons. We can't go in empty handed..."

Danny bit back a retort, reasoning that after berating them for fighting with each other, it'd be counterproductive to insult him anyways. Instead he was about to try and devise a solution when Chie offered one without second thought. "Weapons...? I know just the place! C'mon, follow me!" She said excitedly, taking the lead towards the shopping district.

Half an hour later, Danny found himself trudging of the metal-works shop he'd noticed on his first day in Inaba, a small duffle slung over his shoulder. Both Yosuke and Chie had quickly taken off after deciding that they should wear their school uniforms to conceal their weapons, rather than just carrying them in a duffle like he was doing. Though to be fair it wasn't that bad of an idea, and if he'd needed to conceal any weapons of his own, he might have joined them in wearing his uniform. _'Whatever, it doesn't matter now. I've got Yosuke's knives now, he and Chie are getting dressed. All I've got to do now is get to the food cour-'_

A bright flash blinded him and, tore him violently from his thoughts and, once he'd managed to blink the stars away from his eyes, he was surprised to see a beautiful blue door with gold accents adorning it. He stared at it for a few moments before blinking and looking around himself, realizing that nobody else was even giving the door a second glance, in fact one guy walked right in front of it without even looking at it. The half-ghost jumped slightly as he heard Igor's voice echo softly in his head. _"So...it finally begins. Please, if you would give me a moment of your time...step through the door, Mr. Phantom."_

Danny eyed the door hesitantly for a moment before taking a deep breath and bracing himself as he stepped forward and pushed the door open. There was a brief moment where nothing happened, before his senses were filled with another bright flash, and this time when the light faded he found himself once again in his ghost form, sitting comfortably in the Velvet Room.

"We have been expecting you."

The half-ghost blinked the stars away from his eyes again as he took in his surroundings once again, finding that the room was almost entirely unchanged...except for one addition. He raised an eyebrow at a somewhat familiar looking girl in a plaid skirt with a blue hat and bag sitting somewhat uncomfortably beside Igor. He started to open his mouth to ask who she was, but the old man beat him to the punch.

"The catastrophe that is headed your way...it has already taken human lives in its approach towards you...I wish I could say you have nothing to fear, however we both know that to be untrue. While you do have the power to fight it, you do not have your Persona. It seems, however, that we are out of time...though perhaps this will be a chance for you to shine all the brighter. Only time will tell..." He said seriously, though as he trailed off a slight smile of anticipation had spread across his face.

Margaret nodded at her master's words, "As you are no doubt aware, you are about to enter a very dangerous situation. Lacking the powers of your Persona, you must find another way to effectively battle a large amount of enemies. You have already allied yourself with one Persona user, but you must remember that given your situation you must be on the lookout for chances to build your team's strength, after all you have many enemies amassed against you." She explained in a short, clipped tone.

Igor let out an airy chuckle at his assistant's explanation, "Indeed...my contribution will be to work towards assisting you in your struggle to grasp your Persona, while Margaret will act as a sort of consultant for you. If you require any assistance with the investigation that is beyond the abilities of your associates, you may come to her for your request."

The blonde lady looked him up and down silently for a moment, though Danny was unable to tell exactly what it was she was thinking, before finally breaking her silence as she nodded, "While I am not well versed in investigation, I will be here to assist you should you need help gaining an insight into the minds of your social links."

The half-ghost eyed her carefully, believing that he understood what she meant by that, but still uncomfortable with the casual way she spoke of evaluating and manipulating those around him. He debated raising his concerns before deciding to keep quiet for now as she paused, glancing towards the girl sitting on the other side of Igor, drawing Danny's attention to her once again. "Oh, and one more thing...I would like to introduce a new resident of the Velvet Room, who may be able to help you on your journey."

The raven-haired girl looked up, staring at him uncomfortably for a moment before returning her gaze to the floor, letting out a small huff of annoyance.

Margaret raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow towards her, "Marie?"

A frustrated sigh rang out in the room as the girl raised her head up again, "Yeah, I can hear. Nice to meet you." She muttered insincerely, as she pulled her arms across her chest tightly.

Danny narrowed his eyes slightly as he stared at her. "I've met you somewhere before..." He muttered carefully, not at all liking the slight sense of unease prodding at his mind now that he was paying more attention to her.

Marie's eyes widened slightly in surprise, "Huh? Oh...maybe. That'd explain why you're so familiar." She replied quietly, letting out a soft hum as she drifted back into her thoughts.

Margaret let out a soft sigh of exasperation, "Excuse her. This is Marie. Her soul is still very young and-"

Marie's head snapped back up, glaring reproachfully at the professional woman. "Shut up! Don't tell him any more about me than you need to."

Danny raised an eyebrow at her behavior while Igor just laughed lightly and Margaret shook her head, slowly picking her sentence back up. "-As...you can see. She may be brusque at times, but please understand that she's just an apprentice and forgive her for her impoliteness."

The half-ghost blinked silently at her explanation before letting out a small chuckle, shaking his head at the woman's unending professionalism. "It's fine...besides it's not like I'm much better. I'm pretty sure that if I'd been fully conscious when I first met you two, the meeting would have gone a lot differently."

Margaret raised an eyebrow of her own, while Igor chuckled quietly once again, before nodding in acceptance, "Very well...at any rate, Marie will deal with helping you to train your Personas, if you successfully aquire any. Also, I'm sure that Marie will help you to form a 'bond' between yourself and the outside world. She will contact you at a later date. If you for some reason need to use her services, please feel free to speak with her here."

Danny gazed at her in confusion for a moment, debating again as to whether or not he should question her, before shaking his head once more, as Igor brought the attention back to himself. "Do you recall my words to you before?" He asked patiently, seeming unsurprised when the half-ghost merely stared at him in annoyance. " 'The coming year will be a turning point in your destiny...if the mystery goes unsolved, your future may be forever lost.' I meant precisely what I said, Mr. Phantom. You know very well that defeat in battle is not the only way your journey may come to an end." The old man said solemnly, ignoring the concerned looks casted towards them by Margaret and Marie in favor of directing his stare at Danny's rapidly paling face. "I trust you'll remember that."

The half-ghost nodded quickly, suddenly finding it difficult to swallow as his possible fate was acknowledged by the old man in front of him, however Igor quickly flipped back to his previously cheery state. "When next we meet, you will come here of your own will. Hehe...I look forward to it. Until then...farewell." He stated calmly, offering one last smile, before Danny was once again engulfed in darkness, whisked away back to Inaba.

* * *

Danny stood, staring at the castle in front of himself and the rest of his group apprehensively. He glanced at Yosuke and Chie, both in their school uniforms and glasses, Teddie having produced a pair for Chie when they came in, before looking down at himself in his ghost form complete with goggles. He let out a quiet snort as he realized just how ridiculous they must look, particularly since they were accompanied by the blue-furred bear in clown clothes. _'Focus, Phantom, you have a job to do right now, remember? You can think about how stupid you are for getting yourself in this situation later.'_

The half-ghost nodded to himself at the thought and turned his gaze on Teddie, who smiled back at him upon realizing he was looking at him, "You're sure she's in there, Teddie?"

The bear nodded assuredly, "I'm pretty sure, Sensei." He said happily, before turning back to Yosuke and Chie curiously, "So, um, what's this 'scoring with a hot stud' thing?" He asked innocently.

Both of the teens easily ignored him, lost in their own thoughts before Chie took off. "Yukiko's in there...I'm going on ahead!" She shouted back at them over her shoulder.

Both boys' eyes widened as Danny moved to chase after her, "Hey, wait up! You don't know what's in there!" He shouted towards her back as Yosuke and Teddie quickly moved to follow him. Unfortunately by the time they made it to the entrance she was already out of sight, down one of the long hallways that intersected the entrance. "Damn it...there's no telling which way she went..." He growled frustratedly.

Yosuke groaned in frustration as well, "See? This is exactly why I was against her coming! She never thinks things through, and-" The brunette said, panic tinging his voice, however before he could ramble any further both boys' attention was drawn to Teddie as he let out a strangled cry of alarm, followed by Danny shuddering as he felt his ghost sense trigger, his face paling further than normal as he realized just how many shadows there were here.

"There are lots of shadows in here! It'll be dangerous for a girl to be here by herself!" The bear cried in alarm, as Danny spun on his heel to face the mascot.

"Can you tell where she is? We have to find her fast!"

Teddie shook his head negatively, "No...but she hasn't gone very far yet! If you hurry we can probably catch up to her pretty fast."

Yosuke nodded quickly, "Alright, let's go!" He said desperately, starting to move until the bear opened his mouth again.

"Um, wait a second! The shadows have gotten really aggravated since you two got here. I don't think they're really sticking together but there's a lot of them, so be careful, Sensei!"

The half-ghost spared the bear a quick glance, despite being able to tell for himself when they were close to the shadows, "We will, Teddie, now come on, let's get going before something bad happens." He ordered, leading the group through the hall at what seemed like a mind-gratingly slow pace compared to his flight. The group had barely been moving five minutes when they encountered their first group of three shadows, all of which were identical to the flying orbs from Phantom's first encounter with the creatures.

One of the orbs barely had enough time to screech out a warning to the other two as it saw the group before one of Phantom's ecto-bolts tore through it, sending its quickly deteriorating body crashing to the floor as Yosuke nervously fumbled with his knives while one of the orbs launched itself at him. Mere seconds before the monster was about to slam into the brunette his eyes seemed to light up in realization as he let out a loud battle cry and Jiraiya materialized in front of him, shielding him from the impact. The shadow rebounded off Yosuke's Persona and fell to the floor only for Jiraiya to deliver a powerful kick, sending the orb bouncing off the wall to land in front of Yosuke who, after just a moment's hesitation, lunged at the monster and stabbed it brutally with both his blades while the Persona faded out of view. The shadow-orb let out an ear-piercing screech as it disintegrated. Both the half-ghost and the final shadow had watched the encounter in shock up until the monster faded away, at which point Phantom turned a menacing glare towards the final orb which had been hovering in the air indecisively. The shadow turned its' gaze upon him once more, noting the ecto-bolt glowing in the teen's hand before before quickly turning tail and fleeing the scene, presumably ignoring the mocking cries of Teddie as it done so.

As soon as the shadow was out of sight, Danny turned an impressed gaze on Yosuke, though before he could say anything Teddie rushed onto the scene, "Wow! That was amazing! Sensei and Yosuke make a really good team!" The bear blurted out, staring at the two of them in amazement.

The brunette blinked at the praise before smiling, "I...thanks, I guess we do, don't we?" He said, looking to Danny questioningly.

The half-ghost nodded, "Yeah, we do. But we don't have time to talk now, remember? Chie could be in trouble, and there's no telling how many of those there are between us and her." He replied seriously, though his small smile indicated his wholehearted agreement with Teddie's statement, even as he hurriedly pushed open a door and led them up the staircase to the next floor.

Unfortunately, Danny's words proved to be prophetic, as they were forced to punch their way through several more groups of shadows on their search for Chie who, Teddie assured them, they were getting ever closer to. "How the hell is she so far ahead of us? Aren't the shadows attacking her too?!" Yosuke shouted to Teddie in frustration as they pushed their way through one last group of shadows before coming to a grinding halt in front of a pair of large doors.

The bear shook his head negatively, "No, they don't have any reason to attack her! She can't do anything to them, not like you two can!" He answered in a matter of fact tone, before his eyes widened in excitement, "Guys, she's just through this door! But we have to hurry! I think there's a big group of Shadows getting ready to swoop in on us!"

Phantom glanced at Teddie and nodded in understanding before taking the lead once more, pushing the heavy doors blocking their way open violently and hurrying into the room as soon as his eyes locked on to Chie, who was currently facing away from them, staring up at the ceiling. "Chie! Are you alright?!"

Chie barely flinched at the shout, continuing to stare up into the distance in confusion, prompting the half-ghost to raise an eyebrow, while Yosuke took a couple steps towards her, concern winning out over frustration at her running ahead of them. "Chie...?"

The girl finally looked away from the ceiling, glancing at Yosuke for a moment, before a familiar voice echoed around the cavernous room. _"She said that red looks good on me..."_

Both boys' eyes widened as Danny spun around, searching for the source of the voice, while Yosuke simply called out to her. "Yukiko-san?!" However both of their efforts proved to be in vain, and just as the half-ghost realized that he felt his heart sink in his chest, realizing that they would be treated to yet another insight into Yukiko's mind.

_"I hated my name, Yukiko…'Snow'…__snow is cold and it melts quickly, it's transient…worthless. __But it's perfect for me…apart from inheriting the inn, I'm worthless. __Still…Chie told me that red looks good on me."_

Yosuke shook his head, his mind clearly not wanting to accept what he was hearing, "What...are these Yukiko's inner thoughts? I...remember hearing something like this at Saki-senpai's too..." He muttered, trailing off sadly.

Teddie nodded hesitantly, "Yeah. This castle is probably here because of this Yukiko person."

"Yukiko..."

Phantom slowly turned back to his female classmate, unsurprised to see the pained sorrow etched across her face as Yukiko's voice picked back up, uncaring of anyone who may be there to hear it. _"Chie was the only one who gave my life meaning."_ The voice admitted, the fond, almost reverent, way she spoke Chie's name continuing unabated, _"She's bright and strong, and she can do anything…she has everything that I don't. Compared to Chie, I'm…I'm…Chie protects me. She looks after my worthless life, and I…I don't deserve any of it…Chie is so kind…"_

Chie shook her head pitifully, clearly unwilling to believe what she was hearing. "Yukiko, I-"

The half-ghost gazed at her sadly, not wanting to interrupt her, however it seemed it was not meant to be, as before she could even finish her sentence he let out a gasp, a wisp of fog emerging from him as he felt his ghost-sense shiver through him violently, forcing him to cough from the exceedingly cold wave going through him as a mocking voice echoed out from across the hall. _" 'Chie is so kind' huh? What a joke?"_

The entire group's heads whipped to the voice, despite Danny having already figured out what it was before it even began speaking. Chie, however, was terrified to see an almost mirror image of herself smirking back at her. "Wh-what?!"

Yosuke stared disbelievingly at her doppelganger, shaking his head in his own denial, "Oh man...is that!?"

Both Teddie and Danny nodded at his unfinished question, "Yeah...it's exactly what you think it is, Yosuke." The half-ghost responded warily, not taking his eyes off the shadow for a moment.

Both Yosuke and Teddie stared at him in confusion, "W-what? How can you tell?"

"She triggered my ghost sense...all of the shadows do, but these bigger ones feel different. Look, it doesn't matter right now." He explained quickly, before shaking his head as the Shadow grinned widely at the real Chie's reaction.

_"Are we talking about THAT Yukiko!? She says I'm protecting her!? She says she's worthless!"_ The doppelganger let out a loud chuckle, _"That's how it should be, right?"_

"Wh-what are you saying?" Chie asked, her voice trembling as she stumbled backwards a few steps.

_"Yukiko's sooo good looking, sooo fair-skinned, so feminine…she's the one all the guys drool over. When Yukiko looked at me with such jealousy…man, did I get a charge out of that."_ The shadow said, grinning triumphantly before shrugging and continuing with a darker grin. _"Yukiko knows the score. She can't do anything if I'm not around…I'm better than her…much, much better!"_

The highschooler gaped at her shadow, her mouth hanging wide open for several seconds as she shook her head speechlessly before finally finding her voice to deny her mirror's words. "NO! I've never thought that!"

Yosuke winced as he watched the scene unfolding in front of him in horror before swiveling his head towards Danny. "Wh-what're we gonna do?!" He asked desperately.

The half-ghost stared at his friend incredulously for a moment before shaking his head in disbelief, "We're going to do our job and protect her! What the hell did you think we were gonna do, leave her here and go order a pizza?!"

Teddie quickly nodded at Danny's assertion, "Sensei's right! We need to protect Chie-chan right now!" The bear shouted, taking a step towards the girl, only to fall over backwards in fright as she whirled around, falling down backwards as she lost her balance and shook her head deliriously.

"N-no, don't come near me! Don't look at me!" She cried ashamedly, even as Yosuke and Danny took a few slow steps towards her.

"Chie, calm down, please! You're only going to make things worse if you keep doing this." Phantom said in what was meant to be a gentle voice, however its effect was changed drastically seeing as how he was forced to yell over the girl's own shouts to make himself heard.

"No! No no no no no! This isn't me!" Chie shouted back at him, scrambling away from the half-ghost as he tried to grab her off the floor.

Yosuke's eyes widened in alarm, shaking his head violently as she continued crying, "W-wait, stupid! We told you about this! Don't say anything else like that!"

The shadow's echoing laughter rang out over everybody else's voices, grinning maniacally as it began developing a shadowy aura, _"That's right. I'm the one who can't do anything alone. I can't win as a girl, let alone as a person…I'm pathetic!"_ It cried mockingly, before laughing hysterically again, _"But Yukiko...she's my friend. She depends on me, and that's why I'll never loosen my grip on her! She's too important for me to let her go!"_

"No...no, no that's not how I think of her!"

_"So...you're just gonna turn your back on me again?"_ The shadow asked with a mocking pout, _"Hmm, but things are different now. When the time comes, I'll be the one left standing. Oh, you won't mind, will you? I mean, I'm still you!"_

Chie shook her head vigorously in denial, Phantom's eyes widening behind his goggles as he realized seconds too late that she was going to take the obvious bait. "Shut up! Shut up shut up shut up! You're-"

"NO! Chie, stop!"

"YOU'RE NOT ME!"

There was a moment of dead silence as Chie's shout reverberated throughout the hall, before the shadow's hysterical laughs started up again, quickly turning maniacal as the mutterings of other, lesser, shadows joined. The boys watched in horror as the doppelganger morphed and twisted out of shape, quickly growing until finally a giant dominatrix-like woman sat before them, held up by several struggling bodies, even as Chie let out a scream of terror and skittered backwards away from the shadow before fainting off to the side of the room.

"Chie!"

Phantom grabbed Yosuke's shoulder, stopping him from rushing to the girl's aid as he motioned towards the monstrous woman before them. "The only way we're going to be able save her is if we take this thing out, Yosuke! We can't help her if we get ourselves killed in the process!"

The brunette continued staring at his fallen friend before looking back towards his new one, conflict clear in his eyes. Despite that he nodded and turned to face the shadow with him. "Okay..."

_"I am a shadow...the TRUE self! What do you guys think you're doing!? Trying to defend the 'real' me?!"_ The dominatrix asked incredulously, before letting out a harsh laugh, snapping her whip against the figures struggling to hold her up. "Fine then! You'll suffer the consequences!"

"Chie...hold on just a bit longer..." The brunette whispered before summoning his Jiraiya to him and sending it charging towards the Shadow, "As for you! You just need to shut up, and stop being such a pain!"

The dominatrix let out a harsh laugh and cracked her whip at the Persona casually, tearing a surprised and pained cry from Yosuke's throat as it lashed across Jiraiya's chest. _"How lame! You're all so deadly serious and we've only gotten started!"_ She mocked, leering down at Yosuke. Danny's eyes snapped to his friend in concern before forcing his attention back to the fight, launching himself towards her and flinging several ecto-bolts in her direction.

The shadow easily dodged most of them, though she let out a pained cry when one of burned into her leg, leaving her open as the half-ghost slammed into her chest with a kick, toppling the dominatrix off her pedestal of bodies. Before he could deliver another followup, however, the shadow scrambled back to her feet and furiously flung an arc of lightning at him, sending him flying backwards with a pained scream. "AGH! Y-Yosuke, hit her with your wind spell!" He shouted painfully as he slammed into the floor, the impact knocking the breath out of him before he could issue any other orders.

Yosuke stared horrified at his friend flying through the air before nodding at his order, quickly summoning Jiraiya and following Danny's advice, hurling several disc-like blades of wind at the monster. Still reeling from the burn on her leg, and gasping from Phantom's kick to her chest, the shadow barely managed to dodge any of them. The dominatrix let out a mixed screech of fury and pain as the spells sliced into her, right before Jiraiya delivered a powerful kick to her jaw while Yosuke slashed at her twice with his blades before being thrown back by the monster once again.

Danny had finally managed to push himself back up as Yosuke skid to a stop beside him. The half-ghost took a moment to help up his friend before looking back to Chie's shadow, pleased to see it lying the ground, struggling to push itself up as it flickered violently. "Alright, this is it, Yosuke! Call up your Persona and let's end this thing!" He ordered, before launching himself into the air once again, slamming back down on top of the dominatrix, accompanied by Jiraiya. There was almost a solid minute of nothing but the half-ghost, Persona, and Yosuke giving the shadow a solid beating, it finally ended as the shadow faded into mist following a curb-stomp from Jiraiya.

Phantom and Yosuke stumbled away from the slowly reforming shadow, the half-ghost shaking his heavily bruised knuckles before snapping his head back towards Chie as she let out a pained groan. Before he could even start to move towards her, Yosuke was already at her side, helping her back up to her feet, "Chie, are you okay?!"

The girl groaned again, holding her head in her hands, "W-what happened?" She asked quietly as her gaze locked onto her Shadow's stare. "What's the matter? Got nothing to say no more?"

Yosuke shook his head gently, "Stop it, Chie. It's all right."

Chie flinched at his voice, suddenly looking a lot smaller as she turned to look at Yosuke and Danny. "B-but."

Danny gave her a small, tired, smile as he stepped forward, resting a hand on her shoulder gently. "Look, Chie, I know this has to suck. Nobody wants to have their mask ripped off, everything they hide from everybody else, maybe even themselves, shown off to the world. But that's just it, everybody has a mask, Chie..."

"Everyone?" She asked quietly.

"He's right..." Yosuke replied, glancing at the floor guiltily before shrugging, "I went through the same thing, so I can understand how it feels. But, I mean, everyone has a side like this."

Chie fidgeted uncomfortably before finally nodding in understanding, slowly turning to face her shadow. "Yeah…I kinda get it now. You are me, a side of me I couldn't forgive…that I tried to ignore. But you still exist., you're a part of me…" She admitted, trailing off as her shadow smiled and nodded.

The group squinted as a bright flash lit the room, and as it faded a tall ninja stood where Chie's shadow once had, clad in a yellow jumpsuit and wielding a double-bladed sword. _"I am thou...and thou art I. The strength of heart required to face one's true self has been made manifest. I am the facade used to overcome life's hardships, the Persona Tomoe."_

Chie stared up at her Persona in awe until it faded away and she slowly turned back to face the boys again, looking tired. "I…um, well it's true that part of me feels that way…" She muttered guiltily before quickly snapping her head back up, "But I wasn't lying about being friends with Yukiko!"

Yosuke surprised everyone as he let out a short laugh, shaking his head, "Like we don't know that already." He teased with a grin, though it quickly disappeared as Chie's knees buckled, barely being caught by Danny before hitting the ground. "H-hey! Chie!?"

"I-I'm okay...I'm just a little tired." She muttered unconvincingly as she struggled to push herself back up.

Phantom shook his head, "You don't look okay at all."

Yosuke was quick to agree with him, nodding as he helped her back to her feet. "Yeah, what he said. But I bet...I think you can use the same power I have now."

Danny glanced at the brunette curiously before nodding in agreement while Chie just stared at him in confusion, "Huh?"

"We'll explain it later, Chie. But right now I think it's time to get out of here for the day. We're not going to be able to fight much of anything, never mind another powerful shadow if we're worrying about you, and we can't just leave you here. I don't think you'd be able to resist a kitten right now, never mind a shadow."

"I think that's a good idea...we need to let Chie rest." Yosuke agreed quickly, though it seemed Chie had a different opinion.

"I-I never said I needed a break! I...can still keep going..."

"Don't over do it, Chie-chan!" Teddie chimed in.

Yosuke offered her a small smile as he helped hold her up, walking her towards the exit, much to her annoyance. "It's not that we don't think you can. It's just, we have to save Yukiko-san, no matter what. Now that you have the power, you can fight with us. It'd be much better for us all if you had your strength back. That's why we're saying we should go back and regroup."

Chie shook her head again, though it was obvious she was finding it more and more difficult to argue, "But Yukiko's still in here, isn't she!? I-I… If those were Yukiko's true feelings… then I have to tell her something. I'm not as strong as she thinks! It's because she was with me! Because we were always together, I was able to act that way. If we weren't, I'd…"

"Well then you need to get your strength back so you can tell her that! Yuki-chan's normal, and shadows don't attack normal people. They only attack when the fog lifts here." Teddie replied informatively.

Danny nodded in understanding, "Good...she'll be safe until then, right?"

"I'm positive."

"Alright, we're going then. Don't worry, Chie we'll bring you back with us tomorrow. We'll save her for sure tomorrow, alright?"

The girl let out a frustrated groan, looking for all the world like she wanted to argue with the half-ghost before finally giving in and nodding, "Fine...I'll go back with you, but we're coming back here first thing after school tomorrow, right?"

Phantom nodded firmly, "Yeah...we'll meet up in the food court and then we won't leave here until we've got her."

Chie nodded one last time before finally falling silent, speaking only to ask questions which were quickly answered by either Yosuke or Teddie until they got back to the entrance. The group spoke with each other for a few minutes before finally returning to the real world. Yosuke and Chie left for her house, Yosuke determined to help his friend in the same way Danny had assisted him, leaving the half-ghost to return home himself.


End file.
